Ray County, Missouri

Ray County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1820
Seat	Richmond
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	573.57 sq mi (1,486 km²) 569.47 sq mi (1,475 km²) 4.11 sq mi (11 km²), 0.72%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	23,354 41/sq mi (16/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Ray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 23,494. Its county seat is Richmond. Ray County is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.

The county was organized on November 16, 1820 (effective January 1, 1821) and named for John Ray, a Missouri state legislator.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 573.57 square miles (1,485.5 km²), of which 569.47 square miles (1,474.9 km²) (or 99.29%) is land and 4.11 square miles (10.6 km²) (or 0.72%) is water.

Adjacent counties

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

Major highways

• Route 10
• Route 13
• Route 210

National protected area

• Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	24,805		—
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%

As of the census 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. 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 according to Census 2000.

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.

Cities and towns

Camden Crystal Lakes Elmira Excelsior Springs

Fleming Hardin Henrietta Homestead

Lawson Orrick Rayville Richmond

Stet Woods Heights

Notable residents

• Forrest Smith -- Missouri's 42nd Governor.
• Robert Ford

See also

• Battle of Crooked River
• Mormon War (1838)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ray County, Missouri

External links

• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Ray County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books