Jackson County is a county in Missouri, United States, on the state’s western edge along the Kansas line, home to most of Kansas City. It had a population of 717,204 at the 2020 census, an estimated 732,994 by 2025, and covers 604 square miles (1,560 km2) of land centred near 39°01′N 94°20′W.
Independence is the county seat; Kansas City, the county’s largest city, also serves as a second, co-equal seat of government — a rare arrangement among Missouri counties. Its postal code is 64050. The county holds 15 cities, 3 villages and 2 census-designated places, plus 8 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time.
Towns & Villages in Jackson County
Jackson County has 28 named places on record: 15 incorporated cities, 3 incorporated villages and 2 census-designated places (CDPs), plus 8 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | City | 508,090 | 64101–64121 |
| Independence | City · seat | 123,011 | 64050 |
| Lee’s Summit | City | 101,108 | 64063 |
| Blue Springs | City | 58,604 | 64015 |
| Raytown | City | 30,012 | 64138 |
| Grandview | City | 26,209 | 64030 |
| Grain Valley | City | 15,627 | 64029 |
| Oak Grove | City | 8,157 | — |
| Greenwood | City | 6,021 | 64034 |
| Sugar Creek | City | 3,271 | 64054 |
| Buckner | City | 2,945 | 64016 |
| Lake Lotawana | City | 2,310 | 64086 |
| Lone Jack | City | 1,492 | 64070 |
| Lake Tapawingo | City | 794 | 64015 |
| Levasy | City | 77 | 64066 |
| Blue Summit | CDP | 658 | — |
| Tarsney Lakes | CDP | 250 | — |
| Sibley | Town | 314 | 64088 |
| Unity Village | Town | 66 | — |
| River Bend | Town | 3 | — |
| Atherton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blue Mills | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cockrell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Courtney | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hicks City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hiler | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pink Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sni Mills | Unincorp. | — | — |
Three places on this list need a caveat. Kansas City’s 508,090 residents are citywide — the city also reaches into Clay, Platte and Cass counties, so not all of them live in Jackson County. Lee’s Summit works the same way: part of its 101,108 residents live across the line in Cass County. Pleasant Hill, mostly a Cass County city, has a small annexed edge inside Jackson but is not counted here since its population and government sit in Cass. Sibley, River Bend and Unity Village are legally villages under Missouri law rather than towns; this table labels them Town to keep the column narrow, but their official designation is village.
ZIP Codes
- 64050 — Independence (also serves 64051–64058, the city’s other postal zones)
- 64101, 64105–64106, 64108–64114 and 64116–64121 — Kansas City’s Jackson County zones (the city’s other ZIP codes fall in Clay and Platte counties)
- 64015 — Blue Springs (also serves 64013, 64014, 64029 and 64064)
- 64063 — Lee’s Summit (also serves 64081, 64082, 64083 and 64086)
- 64138 — Raytown (also serves 64129 and 64133)
- 64030 — Grandview
- 64029 — Grain Valley
- 64034 — Greenwood
- 64054 — Sugar Creek
- 64016 — Buckner
- 64086 — Lake Lotawana
- 64070 — Lone Jack
- 64015 — Lake Tapawingo (shares Blue Springs’ ZIP)
- 64088 — Sibley
- 64066 — Levasy
Oak Grove, Blue Summit, Tarsney Lakes, Unity Village, River Bend and the county’s eight unincorporated communities — Atherton, Blue Mills, Cockrell, Courtney, Hicks City, Hiler, Pink Hill and Sni Mills — have no ZIP code confirmed to their own name in the sources checked for this page; mail there routes through a neighboring town’s code.
Geography
Jackson County sits where the Missouri River bends south to meet the Kansas River, in the rolling plains of west-central Missouri. Of its 616 square miles, 604 are land and 12 are water, about 1.9 percent — mostly the Missouri River itself, which forms the county’s northern border, and the Blue River, which drains the county’s urban core south to north before joining the Missouri near the Kansas City stockyards district.
Two Kansas counties border Jackson to the west: Wyandotte County to the northwest and Johnson County, Kansas to the southwest. On the Missouri side, Clay County lies north across the river, Ray County to the northeast, Lafayette County to the east, Cass County to the south, and Johnson County, Missouri to the southeast. Wyandotte County, Johnson County, Kansas, Clay County, Ray County, Lafayette County, Cass County and Johnson County, Missouri all border Jackson directly.
Demographics
Jackson County had a population of 717,204 at the 2020 census, more than any Missouri county except St. Louis County, and the latest estimate puts it near 732,994 residents by 2025. Kansas City and Independence are by far the two largest communities, together holding most of the county’s population. Density works out to roughly 1,187 people per square mile of land, calculated from the county’s own 2020 count and land area — dense for Missouri outside the St. Louis area, reflecting Jackson’s position at the center of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The county is 95.7 percent urban and 4.3 percent rural, and its median age is 36.8 years.
Economy & Local Life
Kansas City’s downtown and midtown, both inside Jackson County, host Hallmark Cards’ corporate headquarters, one of the region’s largest private employers, alongside a cluster of banking, health care and logistics firms drawn by the county’s rail and interstate crossroads. Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, home to the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and MLB’s Kansas City Royals, stand together in the Truman Sports Complex east of downtown. The county’s biggest annual event is the American Royal, an agricultural and livestock tradition founded as a cattle show at the Kansas City Stockyards in 1899; it now runs an eight-week season of rodeos, horse shows and barbecue competitions each September through November, and it is the reason the Royals baseball team carries that name.
History
The Missouri General Assembly organized Jackson County on 15 December 1826, naming it for Andrew Jackson, then a former U.S. senator from Tennessee two years away from the presidency. The Osage people had long inhabited the area before French trappers arrived, and the U.S. Army built Fort Osage on a river bluff near present-day Sibley in 1808 as a frontier trading post.
Independence became a major departure point for the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails in the 1830s and 1840s. Latter-day Saints designated the town their movement’s “center place” in 1831, but conflict with local settlers forced their expulsion by 1833. During the Civil War, Confederate troops defeated a smaller Union force at the 1862 Battle of Lone Jack, and Union forces later secured the region at the 1864 Battle of Westport; General Order No. 11 that year forced the evacuation of much of the county’s rural population. Harry S. Truman, elected the county’s presiding judge in 1926, went on to become the 33rd president of the United States in 1945.
Getting There
Interstates 29, 35, 49, 70, 435, 470 and 670 all cross Jackson County, converging on Kansas City’s downtown loop — a rare concentration of interstate mileage for a single Missouri county. U.S. routes 24, 40, 50, 56, 71 and 169 also run through the county.
- Kansas City, Kansas — adjoining, across the state line
- Independence — about 10 miles east of downtown Kansas City
- Lee’s Summit — about 20 miles southeast of downtown Kansas City
- Blue Springs — about 18 miles east of downtown Kansas City
Kansas City International Airport, in neighboring Platte County about 20 miles northwest of downtown, is the region’s main commercial airport. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief and Missouri River Runner trains stop at Union Station in downtown Kansas City.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Jackson County located?
It sits in west-central Missouri along the Kansas line, bordered by Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas and by Clay, Ray, Lafayette, Cass and Johnson counties in Missouri.
What is the population of Jackson County?
717,204 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 732,994 by 2025.
How big is Jackson County?
616 square miles (1,600 km2) in total, of which 604 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Jackson County?
Independence is the county seat; Kansas City also serves as a second, co-equal seat of county government, an arrangement unusual among Missouri counties.
How many towns and cities are in Jackson County?
15 incorporated cities, 3 villages and 2 census-designated places, plus 8 unincorporated communities — 28 named places in total.
What ZIP codes does Jackson County use?
64050–64058 for Independence; 64101 and several ranges from 64105 to 64121 for Kansas City’s Jackson County side; plus separate codes for Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview and the county’s smaller cities.
What is Jackson County known for?
Most of Kansas City, Harry S. Truman’s home and presidential library in Independence, Fort Osage near Sibley, and the American Royal livestock and barbecue tradition founded in 1899.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.