Before the pandemic, Jackson County, Missouri, and Wyandotte County, Kansas, had been growing.
But between July 2020 and July 2022, U.S. Census figures show, Jackson County’s population dropped by more than 1,000 people and Wyandotte shed more than 3,000 residents.
“I’m concerned about that,’ said Frank Lenk, the director of research services at the Mid-America Regional Council. “It probably means that some of those older areas that tend to have majority people of color have begun losing population again.”
Lenk said a drain on Wyandotte and Jackson Counties suggests some weaknesses in those areas that present problems for the broader Kansas City area.
“We want a regional world where all parts are healthy,” he said. “Population losses is a sign that things aren’t quite right.”
Lenk said both of the most urban counties in the metropolitan area saw birth rates decline, and death rates rise, between 2020 and 2022. He said the population losses reflect an exodus.
“That means people are leaving these counties for other counties someplace in the U.S.,” he said. “Much of it might be with other counties within the metro. We can’t tell that from this data.”
Suburban Kansas City counties, on the other hand, are thriving. Johnson County — the second most populous county in the Kansas City area and the biggest in Kansas — jumped by more than 8,000 people. Clay and Platte counties each added more than 3,000 people. Leavenworth and Douglas counties in Kansas were both up about 1,000 people from July 2020 to 2022.
Census reports later this year will compare the Kansas City area to other metro areas, but Lenk says that data is not yet available.
