Nodaway County is a county in Missouri, United States, on the Iowa border in the northwest corner of the state. It had a population of 21,241 at the 2020 census and covers 878 square miles (2,270 km2) centred near 40°22′N 94°53′W.
Maryville is the county seat and its postal code is 64468. The county has 5 incorporated cities, several small incorporated villages, and more than a dozen unincorporated communities. Nodaway County is in the Central time zone and forms the Maryville, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area on its own.
Towns & Villages in Nodaway County
Nodaway County is the fourth-largest county in Missouri by area, a legacy of the 1836 Platte Purchase that added it and five neighboring counties to the state. Its 28 named places split into 5 cities, roughly a dozen small incorporated villages, and a scatter of unincorporated crossroads communities. The table below carries over every place name from the county’s older records, with type, population, and ZIP code where verified.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryville | City · seat | 10,633 | 64468 |
| Burlington Junction | City | 521 | 64428 |
| Hopkins | City | 472 | 64461 |
| Ravenwood | City | 439 | 64479 |
| Skidmore | City | 245 | 64487 |
| Barnard | Village | — | 64423 |
| Clearmont | Village | — | 64431 |
| Clyde | Village | — | 64432 |
| Conception | Village | — | 64433 |
| Conception Junction | Village | — | 64434 |
| Elmo | Village | — | 64445 |
| Graham | Village | — | 64455 |
| Guilford | Village | — | 64457 |
| Parnell | Village | — | 64475 |
| Pickering | Village | — | 64476 |
| Quitman | Village | — | 64484 |
| Allison | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Arkoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bedison | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bell Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dawsonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gaynor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Monastery | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Orrsburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Possum Walk | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pumpkin Center | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Roseberry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitecloud | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Wilcox | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 64468 — Maryville (also serves Northwest Missouri State University)
- 64428 — Burlington Junction
- 64461 — Hopkins
- 64479 — Ravenwood
- 64487 — Skidmore
- 64423 — Barnard
- 64431 — Clearmont
- 64432 — Clyde
- 64433 — Conception (also serves Conception Abbey)
- 64434 — Conception Junction
- 64445 — Elmo
- 64455 — Graham
- 64457 — Guilford
- 64475 — Parnell
- 64476 — Pickering
- 64484 — Quitman
The smaller unincorporated communities — Allison, Arkoe, Bedison, Bell Grove, Dawsonville, Gaynor, Monastery, Orrsburg, Possum Walk, Pumpkin Center, Roseberry, Whitecloud, and Wilcox — use the ZIP code of their nearest post-office town rather than one of their own.
Geography
Nodaway County sits on the rolling loess-hill prairie of extreme northwest Missouri, drained by the Nodaway River and its tributary One Hundred and Two River. The county has 877 square miles of land and 0.9 square miles of water, giving it the fifth-most land area of any county in Missouri.
Its neighbors are Page County and Taylor County in Iowa to the north, Worth County to the northeast, Gentry County to the southeast, Andrew County to the south, and Holt County and Atchison County to the southwest and west. Only Worth County, Atchison County, and Taylor County, Iowa currently have live pages on this site; Page County (Iowa), Gentry County, Andrew County, and Holt County are named here without a link.
Demographics
The county’s 2020 population of 21,241 is concentrated around Maryville (10,633) and its second-largest place, Burlington Junction (521). That works out to roughly 24 people per square mile of land, one of the lower densities in the state given the large share of farmland. Median household income in Nodaway County runs below the Missouri median of $68,545, reflecting an economy still anchored in agriculture and a large student population at Northwest Missouri State University that depresses per-household income figures.
Economy & Local Life
Row-crop and livestock agriculture is the traditional backbone of the county, and Nodaway remains one of Missouri’s top corn- and soybean-producing counties. Maryville is also a college town: Northwest Missouri State University is the county’s largest employer and shapes retail and rental housing around the county seat. Two wind farms in the county generate a combined 478.5 megawatts, and the area has a long-standing reputation for training Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorses.
History
Nodaway County was organized on February 14, 1845, and takes its name from the Nodaway River, itself derived from an Iowa- or Otoe-language word. It was part of the 1836 Platte Purchase, the six-county strip added to Missouri along the Missouri River after negotiations with the Ioway, Sac, and Fox nations. The county is also home to Conception Abbey, a Benedictine monastery founded in 1873 that still operates a seminary college in the unincorporated community of Conception.
Getting There
U.S. Route 71 runs north-south through the county past Maryville, and U.S. Route 136 crosses it east-west; state routes 46, 113, 148, and 246 connect the smaller towns.
- St. Joseph, Missouri — 45 miles south
- Omaha, Nebraska — 95 miles northwest
- Des Moines, Iowa — 110 miles northeast
- Kansas City, Missouri — 115 miles south
The county is served by general-aviation airports at Maryville and elsewhere in the county; the nearest commercial airport is Kansas City International.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Nodaway County?
It is in the northwest corner of Missouri, bordering Iowa.
What is the population of Nodaway County?
21,241 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Nodaway County?
878 square miles (2,270 km2), the fourth-largest county in Missouri by area.
What is the county seat of Nodaway County?
Maryville is the county seat.
How many towns are in Nodaway County?
5 incorporated cities and about a dozen small incorporated villages, plus more than a dozen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Nodaway County?
Maryville’s ZIP is 64468; other towns range from 64423 (Barnard) to 64487 (Skidmore) — see the ZIP Codes section above for the full list.
What is Nodaway County known for?
Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Conception Abbey’s seminary, and a concentration of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racehorse trainers.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.