Bates County
Also known as Bates County, Missouri, Bates County, MO
county in Missouri, United States
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- Missouri
- Founded
- January 29, 1841
- Named after
- Frederick Bates
- Seat
- Butler
- Largest city
- Butler
- Total
- 851 sq mi (2,200 km )
- Land
- 837 sq mi (2,170 km )
- Water
- 15 sq mi (39 km ) 1.7%
- Estimate 2025
- 16,512
- Density
- 19.2/sq mi (7.40/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−6 ( Central )
- Summer dst
- UTC−5 ( CDT )
Article
Bates County is a county located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Missouri, two counties south of the Missouri River and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,042. Its county seat is Butler. The county was organized in 1841 and named after Frederick Bates, the second Governor of Missouri.
This mostly rural county has an overwhelmingly ethnic European-American population, which has declined in number since the early 20th century as people have moved to cities.