Platte County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and is part of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,718. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

is formed by the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

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

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.45%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.49%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.46% Native American, 1.48% Asian, 0.20%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.05% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Approximately 3.00% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $26,356. About 3.30% of families and 4.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.70% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

School districts

School districts (all full K-12) include: * East Buchanan County C-1 School District * North Kansas City 74 School District * North Platte County R-I School District * Park Hill School District * Platte County R-III School District * 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 R-III School District – 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 Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

**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 Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

*Northland Christian Education System – Kansas City (PK-12) – Nondenominational Christian *St. Therese School – Kansas City (K-08) –

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

*Prairie View KinderCare – Kansas City (NS/PK) – Nonsectarian *Christ Lutheran Pre-Kindergarten School – Platte Woods (NS/PK) –

*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 Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

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 *

Villages

* Farley * Ferrelview * Iatan * Ridgely

Civil townships

* Carroll *

Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

* Fox *

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

* Kickapoo * Lee * Marshall * May * Pawnee * Pettis * Preston * Sioux * Waldron *

Unincorporated communities

* Beverly * Dye * East Leavenworth * Edgerton Junction * Hoover * Kerrville * New Market * Stillings * Stubbs * Waldron * West Platte * Woodruff

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 A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 55th governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

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

Platte County is divided into three legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, one held by a Republican and two held by Democrats. *District 12 — Jamie Johnson (D- 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 Buchannan 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. All of Platte County is a part of Missouri's 34th District in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

and is currently represented by Tony Luetkemeyer (R- Parkville).

Federal

All of Platte County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and 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 Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

(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.

References

External links

Platte County Government's WebsitePlatte County Sheriff's Office Website

from

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books {{authority control 1838 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1838 Missouri counties on the Missouri River