De Soto, Kansas

**De Soto**  is a city in Johnson and Leavenworth counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Most of the city, , is in Johnson County. In 2020, 6,118 people lived there.

## History

De Soto was platted in spring 1857. It was named after sixteenth-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.

## Geography

De Soto is in northwestern Johnson County and southern Leavenworth County at  (38.9791709, -94.9685783). It is along Kansas River. The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that,  are land and , or 1.7%, are water.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 6,118 people, 2,295 households, and 1,635 families living in De Soto. Of the households, 67.0% owned their home and 33.0% rented their home.

The median age was 39.4 years. Of the people, 79.9% were White, 1.0% were Native American, 0.9% were Black, 0.7% were Asian, 7.2% were from some other race, and 10.4% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.9% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 5,720 people, 2,007 households, and 1,523 families living in De Soto.

## Economy

Two local companies, Great American Bank and Custom Foods, Inc., and one national company, Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, are headquartered in De Soto. Huhtamaki Americas, Inc. and Engineered Air, two international companies, chose De Soto for their North American headquarters. Merck Animal Health, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of animal health supplies, chose De Soto for one of its U.S. manufacturing facilities.

### Biggest employers

as of January 2017, the largest employers in the city are:
|#|Employer|# of Employees|
| --- | --- | --- |
|1|De Soto USD #232|1,655|
|2|Huhtamaki|640|
|3|Engineered Air|270|
|4|Merck Animal Health|180|
|5|Rehrig Pacific|110|
|6|Custom Foods Inc|108|
|7|Goodcent's Deli Fresh Subs Headquarters|95|
|8|Hillside Village|86|
|9|Harps Food Stores|31|

## Government

The De Soto government is made of a mayor and five council members. It has a president that is chosen by the council.

**Mayor**
- Rick Walker (term expires 2025)
**City Council President**
- Rob Daniels (term expires 2025)
**City Council**

- Kevin Honomichl (term expires 2025)
- Danny Lane (term expires 2027)
- Victoria McMahan (term expires 2027)
- Rhonda Patterson (term expires 2027)

## Education

The city of De Soto is served by the De Soto school district.
- De Soto School District

Other local education institutions near De Soto include:
- University of Kansas
- Ottawa University adult campus
- University of Kansas-Edwards Campus
- Johnson County Community College
- Baker University Overland Park Campus
- Emporia State University - Overland Park Campus (Metro Learning Center)

### Library

The Johnson County Library System maintains the De Soto Downtown Library.

### Newspapers

_The De Soto Explorer_ was started in 1998, and it was De Soto's main news source for 14 years. It closed in 2012. In the fall of 2015, _Discovering De Soto_ magazine released its first preview edition. In 2017, the De Soto City Council funded issues of _Discovering De Soto_. This was done in order to distribute the magazine by mail and around local businesses. In 2018, the De Soto City Council funded issues of _Discovering De Soto_ for the year.

_The Kansas City Star_ and the _Lawrence Journal-World_ both cover and deliver to De Soto.

### Television

All Kansas City stations broadcast in De Soto.

### Radio

All Topeka and Kansas City stations broadcast in De Soto.

### Road

Several highways go to De Soto:

- runs through most portions of southern De Soto. Two exits have a direct connection to De Soto.
    - Exit – Edgerton Road
    - Exit – Lexington Avenue, formerly  (Decommissioned in 1999)
    - Exit – Kill Creek Road
- runs about  north of De Soto. Two junctions have a direct connection to De Soto.
    - Junction – 189th Street (Leavenworth County)
    - Junction – 158th Street (Leavenworth County)
- S. Wyandotte Road / 158th Street (Leavenworth County)
- (Leavenworth County)
- (Leavenworth County)
- (Leavenworth County)

### Rail

In 1857, the Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe Railway built a railroad through northern parts of town. It was built parallel to the river. De Soto's train depot was built along a siding around 1860.

## Famous people

Notable people who were born in and/or have lived in De Soto include:
- Stanley Adams (1922-1999), U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, Medal of Honor Recipient
- John Anderson, Jr. (1917-2014), 36th Governor of Kansas
- Howard Gloyd (1902-1978), herpetologist
- Greyson Jenista (1996), Atlanta Braves minor league, right fielder
- Frank Lee (1873-1952), U.S. Representative from Missouri
- John Outland (1871-1941), American Football Player and Coach
- Kenneth Spencer (1902-1960)

## Other websites

- City of De Soto official website
- De Soto - Directory of Public Officials
- De Soto Chamber of Commerce
- De Soto City Map , KDOT
- , from _Hatteberg's People_ on KAKE TV news

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: De Soto, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City
- **image skyline**: De Soto, Kansas City Hall.jpg
- **image caption**: De Soto City Hall (2022)
- **image map**: Johnson_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_De_Soto_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Johnson County, Kansas, U.S..png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, Counties
- **subdivision name2**: Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson, Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Townships
- **subdivision name3**: Lexington Township, Johnson County, Kansas, Lexington, Sherman Township, Leavenworth County, Kansas, Sherman
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1828
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established date1**: 1857
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: October 1, 1897
- **named for**: Hernando de Soto
- **government type**: Mayor–council government, Mayor–Council
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **area total sq mi**: 11.45
- **area land sq mi**: 11.26
- **area water sq mi**: 0.20
- **area total km2**: 29.66
- **area land km2**: 29.15
- **area water km2**: 0.51
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 853
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 6118
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 66018, 66019, 66025, 66061
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 913, 913
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 485562