Clay County, Missouri

Clay County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335,^[1] making it the fifth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Liberty.^[2] The county was organized January 2, 1822, and named in honor of U.S. Representative Henry Clay from Kentucky, later a member of the United States Senate and United States Secretary of State.^[3][4] Clay County contains many of the area's northern suburbs, along with a substantial portion of the city of Kansas City, Missouri. It also owns and operates the Midwest National Air Center in Excelsior Springs.

Clay County
County
South side of the Clay County Courthouse (designed by Wight and Wight) in Liberty
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°19′N 94°25′W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	January 2, 1822
Named after	Henry Clay
Seat	Liberty
Largest city	Kansas City
Area
• Total	409 sq mi (1,060 km2)
• Land	397 sq mi (1,030 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  2.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	253,335
• Density	620/sq mi (240/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	5th, 6th
Website	www.claycountymo.gov

History

Clay County was settled primarily from migrants from the Upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them, and quickly started cultivating crops similar to those in Middle Tennessee and Kentucky: hemp and tobacco. Clay was one of several counties settled mostly by Southerners to the north and south of the Missouri River. Given their culture and traditions, this area became known as Little Dixie. In 1860, enslaved persons made up 25% or more of the county's population.^[5]

The 1828 execution of Annice, a slave owned by Jeremiah Prior, was the first to occur in Clay County.^[6] She was also the first female slave executed in the state of Missouri.^[7]

Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints found refuge in Clay County in November 1833 after they were driven from Jackson County, Missouri. In 1836, mobs and the Missouri State militia viciously drove the members of the church from the county.^[8] Leaders of this church, most notably Joseph Smith, were imprisoned for some months in Clay County in the jail at Liberty. In May 2012, the LDS Church built the Kansas City Missouri Temple six miles southwest of the Liberty Jail site at 7001 Searcy Creek Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 409 square miles (1,060 km²), of which 397 square miles (1,030 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (2.8%) is covered by water.^[10] It is the fourth-smallest county in Missouri by area.

Adjacent counties

• Clinton County (north)
• Ray County (east)
• Jackson County (south)
• Wyandotte County, Kansas (southwest)
• Platte County (west)

Major highways

• Interstate 29
• Interstate 35
• Interstate 435
• U.S. Route 69
• U.S. Route 71
• U.S. Route 169
• Route 1
• Route 9
• Route 10
• Route 33
• Route 92
• Route 152
• Route 210
• Route 269
• Route 283
• Route 291

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	5,338		—
1840	8,283		55.2%
1850	10,382		25.3%
1860	13,023		25.4%
1870	15,564		19.5%
1880	15,571		0.0%
1890	19,856		27.5%
1900	18,903		−4.8%
1910	20,302		7.4%
1920	20,455		0.8%
1930	26,811		31.1%
1940	30,417		13.4%
1950	45,221		48.7%
1960	87,474		93.4%
1970	123,322		41.0%
1980	136,488		10.7%
1990	153,411		12.4%
2000	184,006		19.9%
2010	221,939		20.6%
2020	253,335		14.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2019[15]

As of the census^[16] of 2010, 221,939 people, 72,558 households, and 50,137 families resided in the county. The population density was 558 people per square mile (215 people/km²). The 93,918 housing units averaged 236 per square mile (91/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.46% White, 5.18% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 2.75% from two or more races. About 5.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census^[17] of 2000, 23.3% were of German, 14.5% American, 11.0% English, 10.8% Irish, and 5.6% Italian ancestry.

Of the 72,558 households, 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were not families. About 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was distributed as 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

In 2015 the median income for a household in Clay County was $62,099. The income per capita in Clay county was $29,793. ^[18]

In 2010 the median income for a household in the county was $48,347, and for a family was $56,772. Males had a median income of $40,148 versus $27,681 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,144. About 3.80% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.40% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

Registered voters number 151,042.^[19]

2020 Census

Clay County Racial Composition^[20]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	193,282	76.3%
Black or African American (NH)	17,853	7.04%
Native American (NH)	1,009	0.4%
Asian (NH)	6,059	2.4%
Pacific Islander (NH)	1,004	0.4%
Other/Mixed (NH)	15,278	6.03%
Hispanic or Latino	18,850	7.44%

Education

School districts include:^[21]

K-12:

• Excelsior Springs 40 School District
• Kearney R-I School District
• Lawson R-XIV School District
• Liberty 53 School District
• North Kansas City 74 School District
• Platte County R-III School District
• Clinton County R-III School District
• Smithville R-II School District

Elementary-only district:

• Missouri City 56 School District

Public schools

• Excelsior Springs School District No. 40 – Excelsior Springs
  • Lewis Elementary School (PK–5)
  • Cornerstone Elementary School (K–5)
  • Elkhorn Elementary School (K-5)
  • Excelsior Springs Middle School (6–8)
  • Excelsior Springs High School (9–12)
  • Excelsior Springs Technical High School (12) – Alternative/Technical School
• Kearney R-I School District – Kearney
  • Dogwood Elementary School (K–5)
  • Hawthorne Elementary School (K–5)
  • Kearney Elementary School (K–5)
  • Southview Elementary School (K–5)
  • Kearney Middle School (6–7)
  • Kearney Junior High School (8–9)
  • Kearney High School (10–12)
• Liberty School District No. 53 – Liberty
  • Liberty Early Childhood Education Center (PreK)
  • Alexander Doniphan Elementary School (K–5)
  • Franklin Elementary School (K–5)
  • Kellybrook Elementary School (K–5) – Kansas City
  • Lewis & Clark Elementary School (K–5)
  • Liberty Oaks Elementary School (K–5) – Kansas City
  • Lillian Schumacher Elementary School (K–5)
  • Manor Hill Elementary School (K–5)
  • Ridgeview Elementary School (K–5)
  • Shoal Creek Elementary School (K–5)
  • Warren Hills Elementary School (K–5)
  • Liberty Middle School (6–8)
  • South Valley Middle School (6–8)
  • Heritage Middle School (6–8)
  • Discovery Middle School (6–8)
  • Liberty High School (9–12)
  • Liberty North High School (9–12)
• Missouri City School District No. 56 – Missouri City
  • Missouri City Elementary School (K–8)
• North Kansas City School District No. 74 – North Kansas City
  • Bell Prairie Elementary School (K–5)
  • Briarcliff Elementary School (K–5)
  • Chapel Hill Elementary School (K–5)
  • Chouteu Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Clardy Elementary School (2–5)
  • Crestview Elementary School (K–5)
  • Davidson Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Fox Hill Elementary School (K–5)
  • Gashland Elementary School (K–1)
  • Gracemor Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Lakewood Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Linden West Elementary School (K–5) – Gladstone
  • Maplewood Elementary School (K–5)
  • Meadowbrook Elementary School (K–5)
  • Nashua Elementary School (K–5)
  • Northview Elementary School (K–5)
  • Oakwood Manor Elementary School (K–5)
  • Ravenwood Elementary School (K–5)
  • Rising Hill Elementary School (K-5)
  • Topping Elementary School (K–5)
  • West Englewood Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Winnwood Elementary School (Pre-K–5)
  • Antioch Middle School (6–8)
  • Eastgate 6th Grade Center (6)
  • Gateway 6th Grade Center (6)
  • Maple Park Middle School (6–8)
  • New Mark Middle School (6–8)
  • Northgate Middle School (6–8)
  • North Kansas City High School (9–12)
  • Oak Park High School (Kansas City) (9–12)
  • Staley High School (9–12)
  • Winnetonka High School (9–12)
• Smithville R-II School District – Smithville
  • Smithville Maple Elementary School (Pre-K–6)
  • Smithville Horizon Elementary School (Pre-K-6)
  • Smithville Eagle Heights Elementary School (Pre-K-6)
  • Smithville Middle School (7–8)
  • Smithville High School (9–12)

Private schools

• Northland Christian School - Kansas City (Preschool-12) - Independent Christian
• Kalos Christian Academy - Kansas City (K–12) - Nondenominational Christian
• Outreach Christian Early Education Center – Avondale (Pre-K–12) – Nondenominational Christian
• Oakhill Day School – Gladstone (Pre-K–7) – Nonsectarian – (Special Programs Emphasis)
• St. Andrew the Apostle Parish School – Gladstone (K–9) – Roman Catholic
• Northern Hills Christian Academy – Holt (K–9) – Baptist
• Prairie Church School – Holt (K–6)
• Covenant Memorial Baptist Day School – Kansas City (K) – Baptist
• Eagle Heights Christian School – Kansas City (Pre-K–12) – Baptist
• Faith Academy – Kansas City (Pre-K–12) – Nondenominational Christian
• Refine KC School - Kansas City (K-12)
• St. Charles Borromeo School – Kansas City (K–9) – Roman Catholic
• St. Gabriel Catholic School –Kansas City (K–9) – Roman Catholic
• St. Patrick School – Kansas City (NS/Pre-K–8) – Roman Catholic
• St. Pius X High School – Kansas City (9–12) – Roman Catholic
• Liberty Montessori Center – Liberty (K–1) – Montessori
• St. James School – Liberty (K–9) – Roman Catholic

Postsecondary

• Maple Woods :: Metropolitan Community College—Kansas City—A public, two-year Liberal Arts college
• William Jewell College – Liberty – A private, four-year Liberal Arts college.

Libraries, archives, museums

Libraries

• Mid-Continent Public Library
• North Kansas City Public Library^[22]

Archives

• Clay County Archives

Museums

• Clay County Museum
• Jesse James Bank Museum

Communities

Cities and towns

• Avondale
• Birmingham
• Claycomo
• Excelsior Estates (mostly in Ray County)
• Excelsior Springs (small part in Ray County)
• Gladstone
• Glenaire
• Holt (partly in Clinton County)
• Kansas City (partly in Jackson and Platte Counties and a small part in Cass County)
• Kearney
• Lawson (partly in Ray County)
• Liberty (county seat)
• Missouri City
• Mosby
• North Kansas City
• Oaks
• Oakview
• Oakwood
• Oakwood Park
• Pleasant Valley
• Prathersville
• Randolph
• Smithville (small part in Platte County)
• Sugar Creek

Unincorporated communities

• Arley
• Chandler
• Claysville
• Clevenger
• Ectonville
• Miltondale
• Roosterville
• Stockdale
• Winner

Notable people

• Noah Beery (1882–1946), actor
• Wallace Beery (1885–1949), actor
• Obediah Summers (1844–1896), formerly enslaved, AME minister, and Civil War veteran; born in Clay County^[23][24]
• Frank James (1843–1915), outlaw, Confederate States guerrilla, and train robber; born in Clay County
• Jesse James (1847–1882), outlaw, born in Clay County
• John Ellis Martineau (1873–1937), Governor of Arkansas from 1927 to 1928, born in Clay County
• Jesse Sexton (1885–1948), state senator 1936 to 1948

Politics

Clay County, like the rest of Missouri, has swung to the Republican Party in the 21st century, though the margins have been very close. In 2000, Al Gore famously won the county by one vote. The county, holding Kansas City, is mainly suburban in culture and remains competitive. In 2016, Donald Trump won the county while Hillary Clinton failed to improve on Barack Obama's percentages with only 41% of the vote. Joe Biden, however, did improve on those margins, winning nearly 47% of the vote in 2020; Trump still carried the county by 4%.

United States presidential election results for Clay County, Missouri^[25]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	67,688	51.75%	60,345	46.14%	2,756	2.11%
2020	64,605	51.04%	59,400	46.93%	2,564	2.03%
2016	57,476	51.70%	45,304	40.75%	8,390	7.55%
2012	56,191	52.99%	47,310	44.61%	2,542	2.40%
2008	54,516	49.55%	53,761	48.86%	1,748	1.59%
2004	51,193	53.07%	44,670	46.31%	597	0.62%
2000	39,083	48.75%	39,084	48.75%	2,006	2.50%
1996	28,935	41.85%	32,603	47.15%	7,609	11.00%
1992	23,798	31.40%	30,565	40.33%	21,415	28.26%
1988	30,293	50.26%	29,620	49.15%	357	0.59%
1984	36,529	61.79%	22,586	38.21%	0	0.00%
1980	28,521	50.65%	24,250	43.06%	3,543	6.29%
1976	24,962	47.71%	26,609	50.86%	744	1.42%
1972	33,017	69.43%	14,538	30.57%	0	0.00%
1968	19,643	44.48%	17,547	39.73%	6,972	15.79%
1964	13,997	36.84%	23,993	63.16%	0	0.00%
1960	18,955	52.26%	17,318	47.74%	0	0.00%
1956	13,436	49.69%	13,605	50.31%	0	0.00%
1952	13,043	50.95%	12,502	48.84%	53	0.21%
1948	6,408	35.01%	11,855	64.77%	41	0.22%
1944	6,724	43.53%	8,682	56.21%	40	0.26%
1940	6,159	38.83%	9,672	60.98%	30	0.19%
1936	4,491	31.89%	9,535	67.70%	58	0.41%
1932	3,117	24.71%	9,398	74.52%	97	0.77%
1928	5,584	49.92%	5,574	49.83%	27	0.24%
1924	2,998	31.69%	6,076	64.24%	385	4.07%
1920	2,804	30.75%	6,283	68.91%	31	0.34%
1916	1,307	24.83%	3,902	74.13%	55	1.04%
1912	592	12.47%	3,417	72.00%	737	15.53%
1908	1,166	24.63%	3,513	74.19%	56	1.18%
1904	1,077	26.70%	2,832	70.22%	124	3.07%
1900	921	20.04%	3,585	78.00%	90	1.96%
1896	924	18.25%	4,071	80.42%	67	1.32%
1892	738	16.73%	3,085	69.92%	589	13.35%
1888	1,103	22.62%	3,628	74.39%	146	2.99%

See also

• List of counties in Missouri
• Mormon War (1838)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Missouri