Ray County, Missouri

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 2020 census, the population was 23,158.^[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]

Ray County
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
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	November 16, 1820
Named after	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  (2020)
• Total	23,158
• Density	40/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.raycountymo.com

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

• Route 10
• Route 13
• Route 210

National protected area

• Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
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%
2020	23,158		−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2015[9]

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 people per square mile (6.2 people/km²). There were 9,371 housing units at an average density of 6 units per square mile (2.3/km²). 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.

2020 Census

Ray County Racial Composition^[11]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	20,893	90.22%
Black or African American (NH)	227	1%
Native American (NH)	133	0.57%
Asian (NH)	76	0.33%
Pacific Islander (NH)	8	0.04%
Other/Mixed (NH)	1,241	5.4%
Hispanic or Latino	580	2.5%

Education

School districts including any part of the county, no matter how slight, include:^[12]

• Braymer C-4 School District
• Excelsior Springs 40 School District
• Hardin-Central C-2 School District
• Lawson R-XIV School District
• Norborne R-VIII School District
• Orrick R-XI School District
• Polo R-VII School District
• Richmond R-XVI School District

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^[13]

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
• Vibbard

Other unincorporated communities

• Albany
• Dockery
• Elkhorn
• Floyd
• Georgeville
• Knoxville
• Lakeview
• Millville
• Morton
• New Garden
• Regal
• Rockingham
• Russellville
• Sandals
• St. Cloud
• Stet
• Swanwick
• Taitsville
• Tinney Grove

Townships

• Camden
• Crooked River
• Fishing River
• Grape Grove
• Knoxville
• Orrick
• Polk
• Richmond

Notable people

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

Law, government and politics

Government

On January 1, 2025, the Ray County Jail was closed after newly elected Sheriff Gary Blackwell, due to "safety and security concerns."^[14][15] Inmates where sent to facilities in neighboring Harrison and Lafayette counties, as well as the Daviess-Dekalb Regional Jail.^[14]

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.

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	Gary Blackwell	Republican
Surveyor	Thomas Sisco	Democratic
Treasurer	Melissa Holloway	Independent

State

Past Gubernatorial Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2024	72.05% 8,256	25.67% 2,942	2.28% 261
2020	68.93% 7,964	28.38% 3,279	2.68% 310
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)

Party		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)

Party		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)

Party		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)

Party		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)

Party		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)

Party		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)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Emanuel Cleaver	4,778	47.05%
	Republican	Jacob Turk	5,017	49.40%
	Libertarian	Randy Langkraehr	361	3.55

United States presidential election results for Ray County, Missouri^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	8,602	73.53%	2,927	25.02%	170	1.45%
2020	8,345	71.48%	3,109	26.63%	221	1.89%
2016	7,104	64.91%	3,090	28.23%	751	6.86%
2012	5,815	56.09%	4,275	41.24%	277	2.67%
2008	5,593	50.60%	5,241	47.42%	219	1.98%
2004	5,673	52.59%	5,034	46.66%	81	0.75%
2000	4,517	46.34%	4,970	50.99%	260	2.67%
1996	2,884	32.82%	4,714	53.65%	1,189	13.53%
1992	2,563	26.64%	4,457	46.33%	2,600	27.03%
1988	3,763	43.44%	4,879	56.33%	20	0.23%
1984	4,875	55.06%	3,979	44.94%	0	0.00%
1980	4,064	45.81%	4,518	50.93%	289	3.26%
1976	2,853	33.72%	5,535	65.42%	73	0.86%
1972	4,205	59.65%	2,844	40.35%	0	0.00%
1968	2,587	35.90%	3,541	49.14%	1,078	14.96%
1964	1,734	25.05%	5,189	74.95%	0	0.00%
1960	3,542	43.69%	4,565	56.31%	0	0.00%
1956	3,041	39.61%	4,636	60.39%	0	0.00%
1952	3,349	40.64%	4,869	59.09%	22	0.27%
1948	2,102	30.30%	4,826	69.57%	9	0.13%
1944	3,094	40.57%	4,521	59.28%	12	0.16%
1940	3,399	36.94%	5,786	62.88%	16	0.17%
1936	2,805	30.74%	6,300	69.05%	19	0.21%
1932	1,706	21.74%	6,088	77.59%	52	0.66%
1928	3,280	41.70%	4,570	58.10%	16	0.20%
1924	2,753	34.24%	4,989	62.04%	299	3.72%
1920	3,228	39.53%	4,865	59.58%	72	0.88%
1916	1,718	33.28%	3,380	65.47%	65	1.26%
1912	1,192	24.18%	3,042	61.70%	696	14.12%
1908	1,914	37.74%	3,043	60.00%	115	2.27%
1904	1,792	38.86%	2,744	59.51%	75	1.63%
1900	2,004	35.02%	3,631	63.46%	87	1.52%
1896	2,003	33.31%	3,945	65.60%	66	1.10%
1892	1,643	32.29%	3,250	63.86%	196	3.85%
1888	1,796	35.17%	3,181	62.29%	130	2.55%

See also

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