Ruskin Heights is a neighborhood in southeast Kansas City, Missouri. This neighborhood was developed in the early 1950s as suburban on former farmland. A 1957 tornado destroyed Ruskin Heights. However it was rebuilt and was a stable middle class neighborhood.
As Kansas City's African-American population expanded, Ruskin Heights would see itself becoming more diversified during the 1970s and would see its first African-American families move into the area.
Today, Ruskin Heights is considered to be one of the worst places to live in Kansas City, Missouri, due to its high poverty, high crime, lousy schools, and its low housing market.