Who is the Clay County Assessor?

Tracy Baldwin is the Assessor of Clay County, Missouri.

Who is the Clay County Prosecuting Attorney?

Zachary Thompson is the Prosecuting Attorney of Clay County, Missouri.

Who is the Clay County Public Administrator?

Sarah Mills is the Public Administrator of Clay County, Missouri.

Who is the Clay County Sheriff?

Will Akin (Republican) is the Sheriff of Clay County, Missouri.

Who are the Clay County commissioners?

Jerry Nolte (Presiding Commissioner); Megan Thompson (Eastern District, Seat 1); Jay Johnson (Eastern District, Seat 2); JoAnn Lawson (Eastern District, At-Large); Jon Carpenter (Western District, Seat 1); Scott Wagner (Western District, Seat 2); Jason Withington (Western District, At-Large).

What is the population of Clay County?

About 258,122 people, with a median age of 37.9; the median household income is $88,468 and 8.5% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Clay County?

2.8% in September 2026 (preliminary): 4,177 people unemployed in a labor force of 146,989, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Clay County?

60 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 20 municipal, 6 school district and 33 special district governments.

Clay County, MO elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Clay County: 11 seats on 5 elected bodies.

County Commission

Clay County Commission

Office	Who holds it now
Presiding Commissioner	Jerry Nolte Republican source
County Commissioner, Eastern District, Seat 1	Megan Thompson Republican source
County Commissioner, Eastern District, Seat 2	Jay Johnson source
County Commissioner, Eastern District, At-Large	JoAnn Lawson source
County Commissioner, Western District, Seat 1	Jon Carpenter Democratic source
County Commissioner, Western District, Seat 2	Scott Wagner source
County Commissioner, Western District, At-Large	Jason Withington source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
Assessor	Tracy Baldwin source
Prosecuting Attorney	Zachary Thompson source
Public Administrator	Sarah Mills source
Sheriff	Will Akin Republican source

How many local governments Clay County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 60 local governments in Clay County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	20	0
School districts (school boards)	6	0
Special districts (elected boards)	33	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Clay County

258,122people

37.9median ageU.S.: 38.9

$88,468 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

8.5%below the U.S.: 12.5%

36.5%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$275,600median home valueU.S.: $332,700

3.8%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

5.5%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

7.1%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

7.6%U.S.: 8.4%

45.2%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

20.6%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 8% · White 77% · Black 6.8% · Asian 2.6% · Other or more than one race 5.6% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Clay County

2.8%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.0%. Missouri: 3.3%.

4,177people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

142,812people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

146,989in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	2.8%	4,177	142,812	146,989
August 2026	3.3%	4,865	143,405	148,270
July 2026	3.3%	4,993	144,606	149,599
June 2026	3.2%	4,673	142,878	147,551
May 2026	3.0%	4,345	141,720	146,065
April 2026	3.0%	4,417	141,465	145,882
March 2026	3.6%	5,268	139,901	145,169
February 2026	3.6%	5,174	139,773	144,947
January 2026	3.6%	5,289	140,249	145,538
December 2025	3.6%	5,314	142,237	147,551
November 2025	4.0%	5,989	142,264	148,253
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.0%	4,444	141,992	146,436
August 2025	3.7%	5,549	142,840	148,389
July 2025	4.2%	6,234	143,762	149,996
June 2025	3.7%	5,441	141,878	147,319
May 2025	3.5%	5,082	140,958	146,040
April 2025	3.4%	4,999	141,152	146,151
March 2025	3.8%	5,551	138,973	144,524
February 2025	3.9%	5,606	138,332	143,938
January 2025	4.4%	6,373	138,540	144,913
December 2024	3.0%	4,284	139,781	144,065
November 2024	3.0%	4,296	140,032	144,328
October 2024	3.0%	4,430	140,905	145,335

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.8%	5,507	141,175	146,682
2024	3.3%	4,708	139,775	144,483
2023	2.8%	3,965	137,662	141,627
2022	2.6%	3,643	134,249	137,892
2021	4.7%	6,414	130,185	136,599
2020	6.2%	8,355	126,578	134,933
2019	2.8%	3,860	131,609	135,469
2018	3.0%	3,985	129,219	133,204
2017	3.7%	4,900	127,674	132,574
2016	4.0%	5,223	126,650	131,873

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. Missouri's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 3.6% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Clay County

285.0 per 100,0002024. Missouri: 467.0.

1,649.1 per 100,0002024. Missouri: 1,974.1.

2murders2024, 355 violent crimes in all.

2024 is the latest year with complete reporting here: at least one of the county's police agencies didn't send the FBI a full year of figures since, so later totals would be undercounts.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2024	355	285.0	2,054	1,649.1
2023	314	259.4	2,431	2,007.9
2022	272	227.0	2,156	1,799.2
2017	329	271.5	2,624	2,165.8
2016	307	257.3	2,500	2,095.1

By police agency (11)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Liberty Police Department	2025	35	364	31,506
Gladstone Police Department	2025	90	397	27,699
Clay County Sheriff's Office	2025	51	76	18,677
Kearney Police Department	2025	10	50	11,411
Smithville Police Department	2025	13	63	11,096
Excelsior Springs Police Department	2025	33	185	10,763
North Kansas City Police Department	2025	47	354	5,949
Pleasant Valley Police Department	2025	3	16	2,750
Lawson Police Department	2022	3	30	2,511
Claycomo Police Department	2025	12	34	1,377
Oakview Village Police Department	2022	0	4	363

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in Missouri · the U.S.

Police staffing

2.66 per 1,000 residents2025, 11 agencies serving 124,113 people.

330sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.

152civilian staff2025, full-time.

Agencies counted (11), 2025

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Clay County Sheriff's Office	131	87	18,677
Liberty Police Department	47	14	31,506
North Kansas City Police Department	36	17	5,949
Gladstone Police Department	31	15	27,699
Excelsior Springs Police Department	23	10	10,763
Kearney Police Department	23	1	11,411
Smithville Police Department	15	1	11,096
Pleasant Valley Police Department	6	6	2,750
Claycomo Police Department	9	0	1,377
Lawson Police Department	7	1	2,520
Oakview Village Police Department	2	0	365

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2025	330	2.66	152	11
2017	335	2.79	126	11
2016	325	2.74	131	11

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Clay County Assessor?: Tracy Baldwin is the Assessor of Clay County, Missouri.
Who is the Clay County Prosecuting Attorney?: Zachary Thompson is the Prosecuting Attorney of Clay County, Missouri.
Who is the Clay County Public Administrator?: Sarah Mills is the Public Administrator of Clay County, Missouri.
Who is the Clay County Sheriff?: Will Akin (Republican) is the Sheriff of Clay County, Missouri.
Who are the Clay County commissioners?: Jerry Nolte (Presiding Commissioner); Megan Thompson (Eastern District, Seat 1); Jay Johnson (Eastern District, Seat 2); JoAnn Lawson (Eastern District, At-Large); Jon Carpenter (Western District, Seat 1); Scott Wagner (Western District, Seat 2); Jason Withington (Western District, At-Large).
What is the population of Clay County?: About 258,122 people, with a median age of 37.9; the median household income is $88,468 and 8.5% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Clay County?: 2.8% in September 2026 (preliminary): 4,177 people unemployed in a labor force of 146,989, against 3.0% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Clay County?: 60 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 20 municipal, 6 school district and 33 special district governments.

Officeholders as of November 6, 2026, from the Missouri Secretary of State's Official Manual (Blue Book) 2025–2026; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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