Merriam, Kansas
37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Merriam City. It lies in ZIP code area 66203. The Survey maps it on the Shawnee quadrangle. 11,098 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 909 feet above sea level.
On record in Merriam
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Hocker, R.W., Subdivision, Lot K Spec Houselisted 2017- Loomis Historic Districtlisted 2006
Population over time
2 figuresMerriam grew from 11,003 to 11,098 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 11,003 | |
| 2020 | 11,098 | +95 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 37 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1890 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1894 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:125000, 14 printings
- 1934 USGS Shawnee quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Shawnee quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Shawnee quadrangle1:24000
- 1960 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1964 USGS Shawnee quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1983 USGS Kansas City quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Shawnee quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
224 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 224 fires within 5 miles of Merriam between 2007 and 2020, burning about 78 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 12 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 |
| Debris and open burning | 24 |
| Smoking | 17 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 12 |
| Fireworks | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Natural | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2520092 |
| 8 September 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | Johnson County | 2510188 |
| 5 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Johnson County | 2480067 |
| 4 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2470128 |
| 25 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2680121 |
| 22 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 2650077 |
| 20 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Johnson County | 2630080 |
| 14 September 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | Johnson County | 2570129 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Merriam: 4 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star Quarry & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Monahan Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Muncie Creek Dredge & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Superior Sand & Gravel Dredge | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
32 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Merriam in 32 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | $50,000 | A fabric dome covering tennis courts was torn by thunderstorm winds. The dome was rated to withstand 85 mph winds. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | $25,000 | Severe thunderstorms moved across Johnson County. A 70 mph wind gust was observed at the intersection of U.S. Route 169 and 199th Street, and a 65 mph wind gust occurred near Stanley. Gusts up to 60 mph were recorded at the New Century Airport in Olathe, at the intersection of Interstate 435 and Johnson Drive. Thunderstorm winds knocked down numerous trees and limbs in Gardner and Shawnee. In Overland Park, a tree fell on a house and car, and a 60-foot tree was knocked down at 92nd and Switzer. Several streets were completely blocked by downed trees and limbs. A two-foot diameter tree also fell onto a house in Merriam, and trees, limbs, and power lines were downed in Spring Hill. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | Downed tree limbs and wires near 55th Street. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | Downed tree limbs and wires near 53rd Street. Time estimated from radar. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Merriam | - | Quarter sized hail reported near Shawnee/Merriam. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Merriam | - | Report of quarter sized hail. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Merriam | - | Quarter sized hail reported in Shawnee area. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Merriam | - | Social media photo of hail up to half dollar size on Knox Street in Shawnee area. |
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | Several reports of downed tree limbs on 53rd Street. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Merriam | - | Golf ball sized hail was reported in Merriam. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | Several large trees blown on to a house near Shawnee Mission PKWY and Antioch. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | A large tree fell onto an outbuilding. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | A 15 inch diameter tree was down near Merriam. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | A power line was blown down and the transformer blew out as a result. |
| September 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | A tree was reported blocking the road at Craig Drive. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph. |
| September 2013 | Flood | Merriam | - | Eight to ten inches of water was reported over the road, at the intersection of 60th Street and Slater. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Merriam | - | Flooding was reported around Merriam due to heavy rains. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Merriam | - | An underpass was reported full of standing water. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Merriam | - | Driveway and yard was reported flooded due to the heavy rains. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Merriam | - | Johnson County Emergency Management reported large trees and power lines down from severe thunderstorm winds in Merriam, Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. |
| August 2021 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| March 2017 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Hail | Merriam | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee | 1.9 miles | 37 | |
| Mission | 2.0 miles | 37 | |
| Countryside | 2.1 miles | 37 | |
| Overland Park | 3.1 miles | 24 | |
| Fairway | 3.3 miles | 37 | |
| Roeland Park | 3.4 miles | 37 | |
| Elmhurst | 3.4 miles | 24 | |
| Prairie Village | 3.9 miles | 24 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Merriam | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2597644 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 479213. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.











