Platte County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,718. Its county seat is Platte City. The county was organized December 31, 1838, from the Platte Purchase, named for the Platte River. (Platte is derived from the French word for a low, shallow, or intermittent stream.) The Kansas City International Airport is located in the county, approximately one mile west of Interstate 29 between mile markers 12 and 15. The land for the airport was originally in an unincorporated portion of Platte County before being annexed by Platte City, and eventually Kansas City.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. The county's southwestern border with Kansas is formed by the Missouri River.
Adjacent counties Buchanan County (north) Clinton County (northeast) Clay County (east) Wyandotte County, Kansas (south) Leavenworth County, Kansas (southwest) Atchison County, Kansas (northwest)
Major highways
Interstate 29 Interstate 435 Interstate 635 U.S. Route 69 U.S. Route 71 Route 9 Route 45 Route 92 Route 152 Route 273 Route 371
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 106,718. The median age was 38.3 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 78.3% White, 7.8% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian, 0.7% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.0% from some other race, and 8.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.7% of the population.
86.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 42,452 households in the county, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 24.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 45,307 housing units, of which 6.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.0% were owner-occupied and 35.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.
Racial and ethnic composition +Platte County, Missouri – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)44,60854,43866,23075,13581,42696.26%94.07%89.77%84.12%76.30%Black or African American alone (NH)5681,1952,5425,1478,1351.23%2.07%3.45%5.76%7.62%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1372983033703910.30%0.51%0.41%0.41%0.37%Asian alone (NH)3297621,0842,0312,7210.71%1.32%1.47%2.27%2.55%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census148287695xx0.20%0.32%0.65%Other race alone (NH)15913771234590.34%0.02%0.10%0.14%0.43%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census1,1861,8055,730xx1.61%2.02%5.37%Hispanic or Latino (any race)5401,1612,2114,4247,1611.17%2.01%3.00%4.95%6.71%Total46,34157,86773,78189,322106,718 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.45% White, 3.49% Black or African American, 0.46% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Approximately 3.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.4% were of German, 12.5% Irish, 12.2% American and 11.4% English ancestry.
There were 29,278 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $55,849, and the median income for a family was $65,236. Males had a median income of $44,310 versus $31,005 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,356. About 3.30% of families and 4.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.70% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over. Education School districts School districts (all full K-12) include: - Text list
East Buchanan County C-1 School District North Kansas City School District North Platte County R-I School District Park Hill School District Platte County School District Number 3 Smithville R-II School District West Platte County R-II School District
Public schools North Platte R-I School District – Dearborn North Platte Elementary School (PK-03) North Platte Intermediate School (04-06) North Platte Junior High School (07-08) North Platte High School (09-12) Park Hill School District – Kansas City Russell Jones Education Center (K-12) – (Special Education) Hopewell Elementary School (K-05) Alfred L. Renner Elementary School (K-05) Thomas B. Chinn Elementary School (K-05) English Landing Elementary School (K-05) Graden Elementary School (K-05) Hawthorn Elementary School (K-05) Line Creek Elementary School (K-05) Gerner Family Early Education Center (PK) Prairie Point Elementary School (K-05) Southeast Elementary School (K-05) Tiffany Ridge Elementary School (K-05) Union Chapel Elementary School (K-05) Congress Middle School (06-08) Lakeview Middle School (06-08) Plaza Middle School (06-08) Walden Middle School (06-08) Park Hill High School (09-12) -- within Kansas City city limits Park Hill South High School (09-12) – Riverside LEAD Innovation Studio (09-12) Platte County School District Number 3 – Platte City Donald D. Siegrist Elementary School (K-5) Pathfinder Elementary School (PK-5) Compass Elementary School (PK-5) Barry Elementary School (PK-5) Platte Purchase Middle School (06-08) Platte City Middle School (06-08) Platte County High School (09-12) West Platte County R-II School District – Weston Central Elementary School (PK-06) West Platte County High School (07-12)
Private schools Clay-Platte Children's House Montessori School – Kansas City (PK-08) – Nonsectarian Martin Luther Academy – Kansas City (K-08) – Lutheran Northland Christian Education System – Kansas City (PK-12) – Nondenominational Christian St. Therese School – Kansas City (K-08) – Roman Catholic Prairie View KinderCare – Kansas City (NS/PK) – Nonsectarian Christ Lutheran Pre-Kindergarten School – Platte Woods (NS/PK) – Lutheran Our Savior Christian Academy - Platte City and Smithville (PK-12)
College and universities Metropolitan Community College has a service area that includes all of the county, though only the portion in the Park Hill school district is in the community college district's in-district taxation zone.
Public libraries Mid-Continent Public Library
Communities Cities
Camden Point Dearborn Edgerton Houston Lake Kansas City (partly in Jackson and Clay counties and a small part in Cass County) Lake Waukomis Northmoor Parkville Platte City (county seat) Platte Woods Riverside Smithville (mostly in Clay County) Tracy Weatherby Lake Weston
Villages Farley Ferrelview Iatan Ridgely
Civil townships
Carroll Fair Fox Green Kickapoo Lee Marshall May Pawnee Pettis Preston Sioux Waldron Weston
Census-designated place
New Market
Unincorporated communities
Beverly Dye East Leavenworth Edgerton Junction Hoover Kerrville Stillings Stubbs Waldron West Platte Woodruff
Population ranking The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 US census of Platte County.
† County seat†† Partly within adjacent counties RankNameMunicipal TypePopulation 1Kansas City †† Home Rule 508,090 2Smithville †† 4th Class City 10,406 3Parkville 4th Class City 7,117 4Platte City † 4th Class City 4,784 5Riverside 4th Class City 4,013 6Weatherby Lake 4th Class City 2,077 7Weston 4th Class City 1,756 8Lake Waukomis 4th Class City 888 9Ferrelview Village 642 10Edgerton 4th Class City 601 11Dearborn 4th Class City 482 12Camden Point 4th Class City 457 13Platte Woods 4th Class City 394 14Northmoor 4th Class City 291 15Tracy 4th Class City 269 16Farley Village 265 17Houston Lake 4th Class City 229 18Ridgely Village 95 19New Market Census-designated place 88 20Iatan Village 39
Politics
Local
The Republican Party controls politics at the local level in Platte County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county. However, Governor Jay Nixon carried the county in his two successful elections, and in 2004, Claire McCaskill of Jackson County narrowly won a majority of the county's votes over Republican victor Matt Blunt. While the county has swung to the Republican party, the presence of Kansas City has helped keep the county competitive into the 21st century.
State + Past Gubernatorial Elections Results Year Republican Democratic Third Parties202452.31% 30,10245.75% 26,3281.94% 1,114202051.84% 29,61646.02% 26,2932.14% 1,222201650.20% 24,73846.62% 22,9732.58% 1,269201244.64% '20,15452.39% 23,6542.97% 1,339200842.51% 19,41755.23% 25,2282.26% 1,032200448.31% 20,13750.31% 20,9701.32% 577200050.23% 16,97147.69% 16,1152.08% 703199636.40% 10,58161.37% 17,8402.23% 647
Platte County is divided into three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, two held by Republicans and one held by a Democrat.
District 12 — Mike Jones (R-Kansas City). Consists of Parkville, Riverside, and Platte Woods.
District 13 — Sean Pouche (R-Kansas City). Consists of the communities of Platte City, Weston, Farley, Ferrelview, and a part of the city of Kansas City. District 13 also consists of portions of Buchanan County.
District 14 – Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City). Consists of the communities of Houston Lake, Lake Waukomis, Weatherby Lake, Northmoor, and part of the city of Kansas City.
Along with Buchanan County, all of Platte County is a part of Missouri's 34th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville).
Federal
All of Platte County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District. It is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)
Former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 5,434, than any candidate from either party in Platte County during the 2008 presidential primary.
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Platte County, Missouri
References
External links
Platte County Government's Website Platte County Sheriff's Office Website Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Platte County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books