Bates County is a county in Missouri, United States, in the west-central part of the state along the Kansas border. It had a population of 16,042 at the 2020 census and covers 851 square miles (2,200 km2) centred near 38°16′N 94°20′W.
Butler is the county seat, and its postal code is 64730. The county has eight incorporated cities and villages and roughly two dozen unincorporated communities, none of them organized into civil townships. Bates County sits in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 29013.
Towns & Villages in Bates County
Bates County has eight incorporated places — six cities and two villages — plus about two dozen unincorporated communities and crossroads settlements. CDP means census-designated place; Unincorp. means an unincorporated community with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | City · seat | 4,166 | 64730 |
| Rich Hill | City | 1,389 | 64779 |
| Adrian | City | 1,742 | 64720 |
| Drexel | City | 993 | 64742 |
| Hume | City | 279 | 64752 |
| Amsterdam | City | 246 | 64723 |
| Rockville | Village | 158 | 64778 |
| Amoret | Village | 178 | 64722 |
| Aaron | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Altona | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Athol | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ballard | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Burdett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Coleville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cornland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Crescent Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Foster | Unincorp. | — | 64745 |
| Johnstown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lacyville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mayesburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Merwin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Monteith Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mulberry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Home | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Nyhart | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Papinville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Passaic | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Gap | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Prairie City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rucker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| South Drexel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sprague | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spruce | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Virginia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Worland | Unincorp. | — | — |
South Drexel is a small unincorporated cluster next to the city of Drexel itself, and the two are sometimes confused — South Drexel has no post office and shares Drexel’s ZIP code.
ZIP Codes
- 64730 — Butler (county seat)
- 64720 — Adrian
- 64722 — Amoret
- 64723 — Amsterdam
- 64742 — Drexel (also serves South Drexel)
- 64745 — Foster
- 64752 — Hume
- 64778 — Rockville
- 64779 — Rich Hill (also serves Papinville and Passaic)
Most of the county’s smaller unincorporated communities have no ZIP code of their own and use the nearest post-office town’s code above.
Geography
Bates County lies in the Osage Plains of west-central Missouri, two counties south of the Missouri River, with rolling prairie and pasture giving way to scattered timber along its creek bottoms. The Marais des Cygnes River crosses the county’s western edge before flowing into Kansas, and the Little Osage and Marmaton rivers drain the southern townships. Of the county’s total area, 837 square miles (2,170 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2), or 1.7 percent, is water.
Bates County borders Cass County to the north, Henry County to the northeast, St. Clair County to the southeast, Vernon County to the south, and Linn County and Miami County, both in Kansas, to the west and northwest.
Demographics
Bates County had 16,042 residents at the 2020 census, spread across a land area of 837 square miles for a density of about 19 people per square mile — sparsely settled even by rural Missouri standards. Butler, the county seat, and Rich Hill, the county’s second-largest city and a former coal-mining town, together account for roughly a third of the county’s population. Median household income in Bates County runs below the Missouri median of $68,545, reflecting the county’s rural, agriculture-and-service economy and its distance from the Kansas City job market.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture is the backbone of Bates County’s economy — cattle grazing and row crops of corn, soybeans and wheat dominate the countryside outside Butler and Rich Hill. Butler is home to Cooper County Regional Health Center’s Bates County counterpart, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare’s Bates County clinic, and a Case IH farm-equipment dealership that anchors the local ag economy. Rich Hill’s identity is still shaped by its coal-mining past; the surrounding coal fields, worked from the 1880s through the mid-20th century, drew immigrant labor that gave the town an unusually diverse population for rural Missouri. The Bates County Fair, held each summer in Butler, is the county’s biggest annual gathering.
History
Bates County was organized on January 29, 1841, and named for Frederick Bates, Missouri’s second governor. During the Civil War the county lay in violently contested Border War territory between Missouri and Kansas; on October 28–29, 1862, the First Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry fought Confederate-aligned guerrillas at the Battle of Island Mound four miles north of present-day Rich Hill — one of the first engagements of the war in which Black soldiers fought for the Union. The county’s population peaked in the coal-mining era around 1900 and has declined gradually since, as families moved to Kansas City and other cities for work.
Getting There
Interstate 49 runs north–south through the county, paired with U.S. Route 71, and Missouri Routes 18 and 52 cross it east–west. Approximate driving distances from Butler:
- Harrisonville, Missouri — 25 miles north
- Nevada, Missouri — 30 miles south
- Kansas City, Missouri — 65 miles north
- Joplin, Missouri — 85 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Kansas City International Airport (MCI), roughly 90 miles north of Butler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Bates County?
It is in west-central Missouri, along the Kansas border, about 65 miles south of Kansas City.
What is the population of Bates County?
16,042 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Bates County?
851 square miles (2,200 km2) total, of which 837 square miles (2,170 km2) is land.
What is the Bates County seat?
Butler is the county seat.
How many towns are in Bates County?
Eight incorporated cities and villages — Butler, Rich Hill, Adrian, Drexel, Hume, Amsterdam, Rockville and Amoret — plus roughly two dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Bates County?
Nine ZIP codes serve the county, from 64730 (Butler) to 64779 (Rich Hill); see the ZIP Codes section above.
Why was Rich Hill an important town historically?
Rich Hill grew around coal mines worked from the 1880s into the mid-20th century, drawing immigrant labor that shaped the town’s population and character.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.