# 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. 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.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 574 square miles (1,490 km$^2$), of which 569 square miles (1,470 km$^2$) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km$^2$) (0.9%) 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

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 people per square mile (6.2 people/km$^2$). There were 9,371 housing units at an average density of 6 units per square mile (2.3/km$^2$). 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 :
| 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
### 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

## 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

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

### 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." Inmates where sent to facilities in neighboring Harrison and Lafayette counties, as well as the Daviess-Dekalb Regional Jail.

### 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 |
| 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | James W. (Jim) Neely | 1,294 | 100.00% | +32.60 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 8 — Ray County (2014) :
| Party | 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 | 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 | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Joe Don McGaugh | 7,741 | 100.00% | |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2014) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Joe Don McGaugh | 4,583 | 100.00% | +50.64 |
Missouri House of Representatives — District 39 — Ray County (2012) :
| Party | 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 :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | 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% |