Ray County, Missouri facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Ray County, Missouri
Map
Map of Missouri highlighting Ray County
Location in the state of Missouri
Map of the USA highlighting Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded November 16, 1820
Seat Richmond
Largest City Richmond
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
574 sq mi (1,487 km²)
569 sq mi (1,474 km²)
5.1 sq mi (13 km²), 0.9%
PopulationEst.
 - (2015)
 - Density
22,810
41/sq mi (16/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website: http://www.raycountymo.com/index.php/index.html
Named for: John Ray, Missouri state legislator

Ray County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,494. Its county seat is Richmond. The county was organized November 16, 1820 and named for John Ray, a Missouri state legislator and member of the first state Constitutional Convention.

Ray County is part of the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

  • MO-10.svg Route 10
  • MO-13.svg Route 13
  • MO-210.svg Route 210

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%
Est. 2015 22,810 −2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2015

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. 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.

Communities

Cities

Villages

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities

Townships

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

All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Ray County, Missouri Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.