Newton County is a county in Missouri, United States, on the Ozark border in the southwest corner of the state. It had a population of 58,648 at the 2020 census and covers 627 square miles (1,624 km2), of which 625 square miles (1,620 km2) is land, centred near 36°55′N 94°20′W.
Neosho is the county seat, and its postal code is 64850. The county has six incorporated cities, fifteen villages, roughly nineteen unincorporated communities, and fourteen civil townships. Newton County sits in the Central time zone and forms part of the Joplin, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Towns & Villages in Newton County
Newton County has forty-plus named places on record, split between six incorporated cities, fifteen villages, and about nineteen unincorporated communities that have no city government of their own. Joplin, Missouri’s third-largest city, is centred in neighboring Jasper County but a small western slice reaches into Newton County. CDP = census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neosho | City · seat | Neosho | 12,590 | 64850 |
| Granby | City | Granby | 2,050 | 64844 |
| Seneca | City | Seneca | 2,230 | 64865 |
| Diamond | City | — | 831 | 64840 |
| Fairview | City | — | — | 64842 |
| Joplin (part) | City | — | — | — |
| Stark City | Village | — | — | 64866 |
| Stella | Village | — | — | 64867 |
| Newtonia | Village | Newtonia | — | 64853 |
| Cliff Village | Village | — | — | — |
| Dennis Acres | Village | — | — | — |
| Leawood | Village | — | — | — |
| Loma Linda | Village | — | — | — |
| Redings Mill | Village | — | — | — |
| Silver Creek | Village | — | — | — |
| Grand Falls Plaza | Village | — | — | — |
| Racine | Unincorp. | Berwick | — | 64858 |
| Saginaw | Unincorp. | — | — | 64864 |
| Aroma | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Belfast | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Berwick | Unincorp. | Berwick | — | — |
| Boulder City | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Center Point | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Christopher | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Dessa | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Gregg | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hornet | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Jolly | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| June | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| McElhany | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Midway | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Monark Springs | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Pepsin | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Spurgeon | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sunnyvale | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sweetwater | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Talmage City | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Tipton Ford | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wadell | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wanda | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wela Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wentworth | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Westview | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
Two names in the old list were dropped as duplicates: “Granby City” (same place as Granby) and “Shoal Creek Drive” and “Shoal Creek Estates”, which are subdivision names inside Redings Mill rather than separate settlements, so only Redings Mill is kept. “Spring City” could not be corroborated as a Newton County place name and was dropped rather than guessed.
Townships
Newton County is divided into fourteen civil townships, which handle road maintenance and local assessment rather than incorporated governance. Populations by township are not separately published in the standard census release, so those cells are marked below.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Neosho | — | Neosho |
| Granby | — | Granby |
| Seneca | — | Seneca |
| Newtonia | — | Newtonia |
| Berwick | — | Berwick, Racine |
| Benton | — | — |
| West Benton | — | — |
| Buffalo | — | — |
| Dayton | — | — |
| Five Mile | — | — |
| Franklin | — | — |
| Marion | — | — |
| Shoal Creek | — | — |
| Van Buren | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 64850 — Neosho, the county seat
- 64844 — Granby
- 64865 — Seneca
- 64840 — Diamond
- 64842 — Fairview
- 64866 — Stark City
- 64867 — Stella
- 64858 — Racine (post office box service)
- 64864 — Saginaw (post office box service)
- 64853 — Newtonia (post office box service)
Smaller places without their own ZIP, such as Wentworth and Redings Mill, are served by the Neosho or Granby post offices depending on location.
Geography
Newton County lies in the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks, a rolling, spring-fed limestone landscape drained by Shoal Creek and Indian Creek, both tributaries of the Neosho River. Grand Falls, on Shoal Creek near Joplin, is the largest natural continuously flowing waterfall in Missouri. The county borders Jasper County to the north, Lawrence County to the northeast, Barry County to the southeast, McDonald County to the south, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, to the west, and Cherokee County, Kansas, to the northwest.
Bordering Missouri counties online: Jasper County (north), Lawrence County (northeast), Barry County (southeast), and McDonald County (south).
Demographics
Newton County had 58,648 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 94 people per square mile. Neosho, the county seat, is the largest community at 12,590 residents; Seneca is second at 2,230. The county’s median household income runs below the Missouri median of $68,545, reflecting its mix of agricultural and light-manufacturing employment.
Economy & Local Life
Poultry processing anchors the county’s economy: Neosho is home to a major Butterball turkey-processing operation, and the surrounding townships raise broiler chickens under contract for regional processors. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery, one of the state’s largest trout hatcheries, sits on Shoal Creek near Neosho. Crowder College, a two-year public college, is headquartered in Neosho. The Newton County Fair, held each summer in Neosho, is the county’s largest annual community event.
History
Newton County was organized on December 15, 1838, from part of Barry County and named for John Newton, a Revolutionary War soldier known for a raid on a British-held fort. Neosho served briefly as the Confederate capital of Missouri in October 1861, when a rump session of the state legislature met there and passed an ordinance of secession. The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery near Neosho, established in the 1880s, is one of the oldest federal fish hatcheries in the country and later passed to state operation.
Getting There
Interstate 44 and Interstate 49 cross the county, along with U.S. Routes 60 and 71 and Missouri Routes 43, 59, 86, and 175.
- Joplin — 8 miles northwest of Neosho
- Springfield — 60 miles east of Neosho
- Bentonville, Arkansas — 35 miles south of Neosho
- Fayetteville, Arkansas — 50 miles south of Neosho
The nearest commercial airport is Joplin Regional Airport, just north of the county line in Jasper County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Newton County, Missouri?
It is in the southwest corner of Missouri, on the Ozark border with Oklahoma and Kansas, just south of Joplin.
What is the population of Newton County?
58,648 at the 2020 census.
How big is Newton County?
627 square miles (1,624 km2), of which 625 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Newton County?
Neosho is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Newton County?
Six incorporated cities, fifteen villages, and roughly nineteen unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Newton County?
Ten ZIP codes serve the county, led by 64850 for Neosho.
Why was the county named Newton?
It honors John Newton, a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.