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 (1,060km2), of which 397 square miles (1,030km2) is land and 11 square miles (28km2) (2.8%) is covered by water.[10] It is the fourth-smallest county in Missouri by area.
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 253,335. The median age was 37.3 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.7 males age 18 and over.[17]
91.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 8.1% lived in rural areas.[19]
There were 100,254 households in the county, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 25.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[17]
There were 105,619 housing units, of which 5.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.6% were owner-occupied and 32.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.[17]
Racial and ethnic composition
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, 221,939 people, 72,558 households, and 50,137 families resided in the county. The population density was 558 peopleper square mile (215 people/km2). The 93,918 housing units averaged 236 per square mile (91/km2).[29]
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.[29]
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.[29]
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.[29]
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.
2015 estimate
In 2015 the median income for a household in Clay County was $62,099. The income per capita in Clay County was $29,793.[30]
MCC has a service area that includes all of the county, though only the portions in the Liberty and North Kansas City school districts are in the community college district's in-district taxation zone.[34]
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%.
↑"Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
↑"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
↑Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. p.277.
↑Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.83.
↑T. J. Stiles, Jesse James: The Last Rebel of the Civil War, New York: Vintage Books, 2003, pp.10-11
↑"In 1828 a slave woman named Annice drowned two of her small children in a stream; she was put upon trial, convicted, and was hung in Liberty, August 23rd following, this being the first legal execution in the county." County History: Clay County, Missouri. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
↑Frazier, Harriet C. (2001). Slavery and Crime in Missouri, 1773-1865. McFarland. p.170. ISBN9780786409778.
↑Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1941) p. 144-145
↑"Kansas City Missouri LDS (Mormon) Temple". Ldschurchtemples.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
↑"2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
↑"County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
↑"U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
↑"Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
↑"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
↑"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"(PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
↑"State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
123"2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
↑"2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
↑"2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
↑"1980 Census of Population - General Social and Economic Characteristics - Missouri- Table 16 - Persons by Spanish Origin, Race, and Sex: 1980"(PDF). United States Census Bureau. p.20-25.
↑"1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Missouri: Table 5 - Race and Hispanic Origin"(PDF). United States Census Bureau. p.13-63.
↑"P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Clay County, Missouri". United States Census Bureau.
↑"P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Clay County, Missouri". United States Census Bureau.
↑"P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Clay County, Missouri". United States Census Bureau.
↑included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
↑included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
↑IT, Missouri Secretary of State -. "Registered Voters in Missouri". www.sos.mo.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
↑Geography Division (January 12, 2021). 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Clay County, MO(PDF) (Map). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 9, 2022. - Text list
↑Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
Further reading
Woodson, W.H. History of Clay County, Missouri (1920) online
External links
39°19′N94°25′W / 39.31°N 94.42°W / 39.31; -94.42
Clay County government's websiteArchived February 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
Clay County Economic Development Council website
Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Clay CountyArchived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Missouri Historical SitesArchived November 2, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
Categories:
Missouri counties
Clay County, Missouri
1822 establishments in Missouri
Populated places in the United States established in 1822
Kansas City metropolitan area
Little Dixie (Missouri)
Missouri counties on the Missouri River
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