Wyandotte County () is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. The county was named after the Wyandot tribe.
History
Wyandot tribe The county is named after the Wyandot (also Wyandott or Wyandotte) Indians. They were called the Huron by the French in Canada, but called themselves Wendat. They were distantly related to the Iroquois, with whom they sometimes fought. They had hoped to keep white Americans out of their territory and to make the Ohio River the border between the United States and Canada.
One branch of the Wyandot moved to the area that is now the state of Ohio. They generally took the course of assimilation into Anglo-American society. Many of them embraced Christianity under the influence of missionaries. They were transported to the current Wyandotte County in 1843, where they set up a community and worked in cooperation with Anglo settlers. The Christian Munsee also influenced this area's early settlement.
The Wyandot in Kansas set up a constitutional form of government they had devised in Ohio. They set up the territorial government for Kansas and Nebraska, and elected one of their own territorial governor.
Other historical facts The county was organized in 1859. Tenskwatawa (Tecumseh's brother), "the Prophet", fought at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. He was buried at Shawnee Native American historical site Whitefeather Spring, at 3818 Ruby Ave. Kansas City, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company employed over 250 men during the 1880s. The ore and base bullion is received from the mountains' mining districts and is crushed, separated and refined.
The Delaware Crossing (or "Military Crossing"; sometimes "the Secondine") was where the old Indian trail met the waters of the Kaw River. Circa 1831, Moses Grinter, one of the area's earliest permanent white settlers, set up the Grinter Ferry on the Kansas River there. His house was known as the Grinter Place. The ferry was used by traders, freighters, and soldiers traveling between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott on the military road. Others crossed this area on their way to Santa Fe.
The Diocese of Leavenworth moved its see from Leavenworth, Kansas to Kansas City, Kansas on May 10, 1947. It became an archdiocese on August 9, 1952.
In January 2025, Wyandotte County was the epicenter of the largest tuberculosis outbreak in United States history according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (2.9%) is water. It is Kansas's smallest county by area.
Topography The county's natural topography consists of gently rolling terrain. The Kansas River forms part of the county's southern boundary. The elevation generally increases from south to north as the distance from the Kansas River and Missouri River increases.
Watersheds and streams
The county is drained by natural creek and stream watersheds of the Kaw River, which is part of the Missouri River basin. It receives plentiful rainfall.
Turkey Creek is a stream spanning Johnson and Wyandotte counties. The creek has disastrously flooded the area through all measurable history, including several cities in the Upper Turkey Creek Basin, for which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed complicated flood control deployments and ongoing proposals, including major drainage at Rosedale, KCK.
Adjacent counties Platte County, Missouri (north) Clay County, Missouri (northeast) Jackson County, Missouri (east) Johnson County (south) Leavenworth County (west)
Demographics
Wyandotte County is included in the Kansas City, MO-KS Kansas City metropolitan area.
Racial and ethnic composition +Wyandotte County, Kansas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)120,568103,95581,53468,17063,07969.96%64.17%51.64%43.28%37.27%Black or African American alone (NH)41,21044,13144,32839,04633,94523.91%27.24%28.08%24.79%20.06%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)8099668927937250.47%0.60%0.56%0.50%0.43%Asian alone (NH)7181,7872,5133,8867,6210.42%1.10%1.59%2.47%4.50%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 Census39147364xx0.02%0.09%0.22%Other race alone (NH)9301572171835730.54%0.10%0.14%0.12%0.34%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3,1023,6477,124xx1.96%2.32%4.21%Hispanic or Latino (any race)8,10010,99725,25741,63355,8144.70%6.79%16.00%26.43%32.98%Total172,335161,993157,882157,505169,245 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 169,245. The median age was 34.5 years. 27.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 43.6% White, 20.4% Black or African American, 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 15.2% from some other race, and 14.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 33.0% of the population.
94.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 61,835 households in the county, of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 30.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 68,475 housing units, of which 9.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 57.2% were owner-occupied and 42.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.5%.
2000 census The 2000 census recorded 157,882 people, 59,700 households, and 39,163 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 65,892 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 58.18% White, 28.33% Black or African American, 1.63% Asian, 0.74% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.17% from other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.00% of the population.
By 2007, 48.1% of Wyandotte County's population was non-Hispanic white. 26.3% of the population was African-American. Native Americans made up 0.6% of the population, Asians 1.8%, and Latinos 21.7%.
There were 59,700 households, of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.10% were married couples living together, 17.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county, 28.50% of residents were under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,784, and the median income for a family was $40,333. Males had a median income of $31,335 versus $24,640 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,005. About 12.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those 65 or older.
Approximately 1.4% of the county's residents took public transportation to work in 2002. This was the highest percentage in the state.
Government Law The Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office oversees the Wyandotte County Jail. The Bonner Springs Police Department, Edwardsville Police Department, Lake Quivira Police Department, and the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department serve those respective cities in Wyandotte County.
The Kansas City Kansas Community College Police Department, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Police Department, and the University of Kansas Medical Center Police Department are also independent law enforcement agencies in the county.
Wyandotte County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. Voters removed the food sales requirement in 1988.
The county voted against the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 74% to 26%, outpacing its support of Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election.
Local government In 1997, residents voted to consolidate the municipal government of Kansas City, Kansas and county government of Wyandotte into a single unified government, combining many duplicative public departments. Voters at the time largely decided the municipal government harbored widespread corruption and patronage, and that consolidation with the better run county offered a path toward better public services and increased government transparency.
The governing body of Wyandotte County consists of a Mayor/CEO and ten Commissioners.
Mayor/CEO Christal E. Watson
Board of Commissioners At-Large District 1: Melissa Bynum At-Large District 2: Andrew Kump District 1: Jermaine Howard District 2: William J. Burns District 3: Christian Ramirez District 4: Evelyn Hill District 5: Carlos Pacheco District 6: Philip J. Lopez District 7: Chuck Stites District 8: Andrew Davis
Presidential elections
Unlike almost every other county in Kansas, Wyandotte County has been solidly Democratic ever since the New Deal. This is largely due to its highly urbanized nature and significant minority population. The only Democrat to lose Wyandotte County since 1932 has been George McGovern in Richard Nixon's 49-state landslide of 1972, when Nixon swept all 275 counties in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Wyandotte was the only county in Kansas to vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Adlai Stevenson II in both 1952 and 1956, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Walter Mondale in 1984. No Republican presidential nominee has received even 40% of the vote since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Democratic strength is primarily concentrated east of Interstate 435, while areas west of the highway, especially the neighborhoods of Piper and Wolcott, lean Republican.
Economy Village West is at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 435, and has significantly fueled growth in KCK and Wyandotte County. Anchored by the Kansas Speedway, its attractions and retailers include Hollywood Casino, Legends Outlets Kansas City, Cabela's, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Great Wolf Lodge, Legends Field (hosting the Monarchs of the American Association of baseball) and Sporting Park (hosting Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer).
Other attractions include Azura Amphitheater (formerly and still commonly known as the Sandstone Amphitheater), the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, Wyandotte County Park, and Sunflower Hills Golf Course.
Beginning in 2031, Wyandotte County will also include the new home stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League.
Colleges and universities Public Kansas City Kansas Community College University of Kansas Medical Center Private Donnelly College
School districts Turner USD 202 Piper USD 203 Bonner Springs–Edwardsville USD 204 Kansas City USD 500
Private schools Primary