Jackson County, Missouri

Jackson County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 654,880. The 2005 Census estimates put the population of Jackson County at 662,959. It is the second most populous county in Missouri after, owing mostly to the presence of , the state's most populous city and focus city of the. Although Kansas City is by far the county's largest city, the is located in nearby.

History
Jackson County was organized on, and named for ,  (and later ) from.

In, a small piece of land was bought along the in northern Jackson County by the "Town Company," which established "Westport Landing" (today ). The area outside of Westport Landing was renamed the "Town of Kansas," after the local, in. The town was incorporated by the State of Missouri as the "City of Kansas" in. In, with a population of around 60,000, the city adopted a new charter and changed its name to Kansas City. In, Kansas City annexed Westport.

The county features prominently in the. taught that the was located in what is now Jackson County and that the  spoken of in the  will be built in Jackson County someday. The "center place" for this New Jerusalem is a specific area located in, where today several minor off-shoot denominations have facilities, most notably the  church and the , both of which have their worldwide headquarters in Independence, although both groups have only a handful of members each, most of whom live in or around Independence.

During the, most of the county (except the portion known then as "Kaw Township" - today the heart of Kansas City) was burned to the ground as part of.

Law and government
Jackson County was the second county to adopt a home-rule under the Missouri. The Jackson County Charter was adopted by the voters in 1970 and was amended in 1985 and 1986.

of the county is vested in the, which is a full-time salaried position. The current county executive is Mike Sanders. The county executive is elected by the general population of the county for a four year term.

Ordinances are passed by a county legislature. The legislature is made up of nine members, six elected from smaller districts within the county and three elected "at large" from larger districts by voters of the whole county. Member terms are 4 years, beginning on January 1 following the election.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,596 (616 ). 1,567 km² (605 sq mi) of it is land and 30 km² (12 sq mi) of it (1.88%) is water.

The comprises Jackson County's northern border. The county has historically been a major traveling point for American river travel.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 654,880 people, 266,294 households, and 166,167 families residing in the county. The was 418/km² (1,083/sq mi). There were 288,231 housing units at an average density of 184/km² (476/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 70.10%, 23.27% or , 0.48% , 1.28% , 0.18% , 2.43% from , and 2.25% from two or more races. 5.37% of the population were or  of any race. 16.7% were of, 9.1% , 8.9% and 8.8%  ancestry according to.

There were 266,294 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.40% were living together, 14.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.60% were non-families. 31.20% 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 2.42 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,277, and the median income for a family was $48,435. Males had a median income of $35,798 versus $27,403 for females. The for the county was $20,788. About 9.00% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.