Ray County, Missouri

Ray County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials

Ray County
Ray County
U.S. county
	Ray County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
	Missouri's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 39°21′N 93°59′W / 39.35°N 93.99°W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	November 16, 1820
Named for	John Ray, Missouri state legislator
Seat	Richmond
Largest city	Richmond
Area
• Total	574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	569 sq mi (1,470 km2)
• Water	5.1 sq mi (13 km2) 0.9%
Population (2010)
• Total	23,494
• Estimate (2018)	22,883
• Density	41/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.raycountymo.com

Ray 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 2010 census, the population was 23,494.^[1] Its county seat is Richmond.^[2] The county was organized November 16, 1820 and named for John Ray, a Missouri state legislator and member of the first state Constitutional Convention.^[3]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 574 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 569 square miles (1,470 km²) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km²) (0.9%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties[]

Caldwell County (north)
Carroll County (east)
Lafayette County (south)
Jackson County (southwest)
Clay County (west)
Clinton County (northwest)

Major highways[]

National protected area[]

Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	2,657		—
1840	6,553		146.6%
1850	10,373		58.3%
1860	14,092		35.9%
1870	18,700		32.7%
1880	20,190		8.0%
1890	24,215		19.9%
1900	24,805		2.4%
1910	21,451		−13.5%
1920	20,508		−4.4%
1930	19,846		−3.2%
1940	18,584		−6.4%
1950	15,932		−14.3%
1960	16,075		0.9%
1970	17,599		9.5%
1980	21,378		21.5%
1990	21,971		2.8%
2000	23,354		6.3%
2010	23,494		0.6%
2018 (est.)	22,883	^[5]	−2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010-2015^[1]

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 23,354 people, 8,743 households, and 6,539 families residing in the county. The population density was 16/km² (41/mi²). There were 9,371 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (16/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.50% White, 1.46% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Approximately 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.6% were of American, 23.3% German, 11.5% English and 10.3% Irish ancestry.

There were 8,743 households, out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.10% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.20% were non-families. 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,886, and the median income for a family was $49,192. Males had a median income of $36,815 versus $21,684 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,685. About 5.30% of families and 6.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.00% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education[]

Public schools[]

Hardin-Central C-2 School District – Hardin
- Hardin-Central Elementary School (PK-06)
- Hardin-Central High School (07-12)
Lawson R-XIV School District – Lawson
- Southwest Elementary School (PK-04)
- Lawson Middle School (05-08)
- Lawson High School (09-12)
Orrick R-XI School District – Orrick
- Orrick Elementary School (PK-06)
- Orrick High School (07-12)
Richmond R-XVI School District – Richmond
- Dear Elementary School (PK-01)
- Sunrise Elementary School (02-05)
- Richmond Middle School (06-08)
- Richmond High School (09-12)

Public libraries[]

Ray County Library^[11]

Politics[]

Local[]

Politics at the local level in Ray County are now evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, with Republicans making major gains in the past four election cycles, going from no representation before 2011 to now holding half of the county offices.

State[]

**Past Gubernatorial Elections Results**
Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2016	52.51% 5,686	43.58% 4,719	3.91% 423
2012	41.26% 4,252	55.53% 5,722	3.21% 331
2008	35.73% 3,899	61.13% 6,670	3.14% 343
2004	47.08% 5,073	51.33% 5,531	1.59% 172
2000	41.75% 4,045	55.81% 5,407	2.44% 237
1996	28.31% 2,475	69.26% 6,055	2.43% 212
1992	37.6% 3,578	62.4% 5,937	N/A
1988	56.26% 4,859	43.01% 3,714	0.73% 63

The northwest corner of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 8th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is currently represented by Jim Neely (R-Cameron).

Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2016)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James W. (Jim) Neely	1,294	100.00%	+32.60

Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2014)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James W. (Jim) Neely	548	67.40%	+12.22
	Democratic	Ted Rights	265	32.60%	-12.22

Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	James W. (Jim) Neely	788	55.18%
	Democratic	James T. (Jim) Crenshaw	640	44.82%

Most of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 39th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is currently represented by Joe Don McGaugh (R-Carrollton).

Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2016)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Don McGaugh	7,741	100.00%

Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2014)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Don McGaugh	4,583	100.00%	+50.64

Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Joe Don McGaugh	4,176	49.36%
	Democratic	Will Talbert	4,285	50.64%

All of Ray County is a part of Missouri's 21st District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg).

Missouri Senate — District 21 — Ray County (2016)
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Denny Hoskins	6,408	61.80%	+4.37
Democratic	ElGene Ver Dught	3,346	32.27%	-4.99
Libertarian	Bill Wayne	615	5.93%	+0.62

Missouri Senate — District 21 — Ray County (2012)
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	David Pearce	5,679	57.43%
Democratic	ElGene Ver Dught	3,684	37.26%
Libertarian	Steven Hedrick	525	5.31%

Federal[]

U.S. Senate — Missouri — Ray County (2016)
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Roy Blunt	5,415	50.10%	+11.60
Democratic	Jason Kander	4,725	43.71%	-9.16
Libertarian	Jonathan Dine	390	3.61%	-5.02
Green	Johnathan McFarland	119	1.10%	+1.10
Constitution	Fred Ryman	159	1.47%	+1.47

U.S. Senate — Missouri — Ray County (2012)
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Todd Akin	3,960	38.50%
Democratic	Claire McCaskill	5,439	52.87%
Libertarian	Jonathan Dine	888	8.63%

All of Ray County is included in Missouri's 5th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) in the United States House of Representatives.

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2016)
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic	Emanuel Cleaver	4,394	41.10%	+1.71
Republican	Jacob Turk	5,895	55.14%	-0.42
Libertarian	Roy Welborn	402	3.76%	-1.29

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2014)
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic	Emanuel Cleaver	2,506	39.39%	-7.66
Republican	Jacob Turk	3,535	55.56%	+6.16
Libertarian	Roy Welborn	321	5.05%	+1.50

U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri’s 5th Congressional District — Ray County (2012)
	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Emanuel Cleaver	4,778	47.05%
Republican	Jacob Turk	5,017	49.40%
Libertarian	Randy Langkraehr	361	3.55

show

Presidential elections results

Communities[]

Cities[]

Camden
Crystal Lakes
Excelsior Springs (mostly in Clay County)
Fleming
Hardin
Henrietta
Lawson (partly in Clay County)
Orrick
Richmond
Wood Heights

Villages[]

Elmira
Excelsior Estates (small part in Clay County)
Homestead

Census-designated place[]

Rayville

Other unincorporated communities[]

Townships[]

Notable people[]

Forrest Smith, Missouri's 42nd Governor
Robert Ford, outlaw, killer of Jesse James
Chad Kilgore, football player
Gordon Young, cowboy, journalist, novelist

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1917). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 344.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved November 13, 2019.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ Breeding, Marshall. "Ray County Library". Libraries.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-26.

External links[]

Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Ray County Archived 2011-08-16 at the Wayback Machine from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books

Coordinates: 39°21′N 93°59′W / 39.35°N 93.99°W / 39.35; -93.99

[QF-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2013.

[GR6-2] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.

[3] Eaton, David Wolfe (1917). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 344.

[GR1-4] "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

[USCensusEst2018-5] "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved November 13, 2019.

[6] "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

[7] "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

[8] "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

[9] "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

[GR2-10] "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

[11] Breeding, Marshall. "Ray County Library". Libraries.org. Retrieved May 8, 2017.

[12] Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-26.

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Ray County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor	Kent Wollard	Democratic
Circuit Clerk	Carolyne Conner	Democratic
County Clerk	Glenda Powell	Republican
Collector	Julie Chowning	Democratic
Commissioner (Presiding)	Gary Wilhite	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Allen Dale	Democratic
Commissioner (District 2)	Jerry Bishop	Republican
Coroner	Bart Willem	Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	Camille Johnston	Republican
Public Administrator	Shannon Wollard	Republican
Recorder	Shirley O’Dell	Democratic
Sheriff	Scott Childers	Republican
Surveyor	Thomas Sisco	Democratic
Treasurer	Melissa Holloway	Independent

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2020	71.5% 8,345	26.6% 3,109	1.9% 221
2016	64.9% 7,104	28.2% 3,090	6.9% 751
2012	56.1% 5,815	41.2% 4,275	2.7% 277
2008	50.6% 5,593	47.4% 5,241	2.0% 219
2004	52.6% 5,673	46.7% 5,034	0.8% 81
2000	46.3% 4,517	51.0% 4,970	2.7% 260
1996	32.8% 2,884	53.7% 4,714	13.5% 1,189
1992	26.6% 2,563	46.3% 4,457	27.0% 2,600
1988	43.4% 3,763	56.3% 4,879	0.2% 20
1984	55.1% 4,875	44.9% 3,979
1980	45.8% 4,064	50.9% 4,518	3.3% 289
1976	33.7% 2,853	65.4% 5,535	0.9% 73
1972	59.7% 4,205	40.4% 2,844
1968	35.9% 2,587	49.1% 3,541	15.0% 1,078
1964	25.1% 1,734	75.0% 5,189
1960	43.7% 3,542	56.3% 4,565
1956	39.6% 3,041	60.4% 4,636
1952	40.6% 3,349	59.1% 4,869	0.3% 22
1948	30.3% 2,102	69.6% 4,826	0.1% 9
1944	40.6% 3,094	59.3% 4,521	0.2% 12
1940	36.9% 3,399	62.9% 5,786	0.2% 16
1936	30.7% 2,805	69.1% 6,300	0.2% 19
1932	21.7% 1,706	77.6% 6,088	0.7% 52
1928	41.7% 3,280	58.1% 4,570	0.2% 16
1924	34.2% 2,753	62.0% 4,989	3.7% 299
1920	39.5% 3,228	59.6% 4,865	0.9% 72
1916	33.3% 1,718	65.5% 3,380	1.3% 65
1912	24.2% 1,192	61.7% 3,042	14.1% 696
1908	37.7% 1,914	60.0% 3,043	2.3% 115
1904	38.9% 1,792	59.5% 2,744	1.6% 75
1900	35.0% 2,004	63.5% 3,631	1.5% 87
1896	33.3% 2,003	65.6% 3,945	1.1% 66
1892	32.3% 1,643	63.9% 3,250	3.9% 196
1888	35.2% 1,796	62.3% 3,181	2.6% 130

show v t Kansas City metropolitan area's cities and counties
Central city	Kansas City, Missouri
Largest cities (over 100,000 in 2000)	Independence Kansas City, Kansas Olathe Overland Park
Medium-sized cities (10,000 to 100,000 in 2000)	Blue Springs Belton Excelsior Springs Gladstone Grandview Lansing Leawood Leavenworth Lee's Summit Lenexa Liberty Merriam Ottawa Prairie Village Raymore Raytown Shawnee
Smaller Cities (between 5,000 and 9,900 in 2010)	De Soto Bonner Springs Basehor Edgerton Paola
Counties	Jackson Clay Cass Platte Lafayette Ray Clinton Bates Caldwell Johnson Wyandotte Leavenworth Miami Franklin Linn

show v t Municipalities and communities of Ray County, Missouri, United States
County seat: Richmond
Cities	Camden Crystal Lakes Excelsior Springs‡ Fleming Hardin Henrietta Lawson‡ Orrick Richmond Wood Heights
Villages	Elmira Excelsior Estates‡ Homestead
Townships	Camden Crooked River Fishing River Grape Grove Knoxville Orrick Polk Richmond
CDPs	Rayville Vibbard
Other communities	Albany Dockery Elkhorn Floyd Georgeville Knoxville Lakeview Millville Morton New Garden Regal Rockingham Russellville Sandals St. Cloud Stet‡ Swanwick Taitsville Tinney Grove
Ghost town	Ovid
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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Largest cities	Kansas City St. Louis Springfield Columbia Independence Lee's Summit O'Fallon St. Joseph St. Charles Blue Springs St. Peters Florissant Joplin Chesterfield Wentzville Jefferson City Cape Girardeau Wildwood University City Ballwin Liberty Raytown Kirkwood Maryland Heights Gladstone Grandview Hazelwood
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