Kansas and Missouri grow with more diversity, while KC records its highest population

Like the rest of the country, Missouri and Kansas are growing more racially and ethnically diverse, 2020 census data show.

The roughly 3% population increase in each state — below the 7% national growth — was entirely driven by residents of color, who now make up 24% of the population in Missouri and 28% of the population in Kansas.

The U.S. Census Bureau released demographic data earlier this month that will be used, among other things, to redraw the nation’s political maps.

In addition to demographic changes over the last decade, the data showing shifts in racial and ethnic composition are due to changes that the U.S. Census Bureau made in processing responses and how it asked about race and ethnicity

“Those actual structural changes to the way the survey was collected and recorded is at least partially, if not largely, responsible for actual changes in racial reporting,” said Cory Mihalik, a statistical research consultant at the Missouri State Library.

Over the past 10 years, the country’s multiracial population skyrocketed to 33.8 million people, more than a threefold increase from 2010.

“The improvements we made to the 2020 Census yield a more accurate portrait of how people self-identify in response to two separate questions on Hispanic origin and race, revealing that the U.S. population is much more multiracial and more diverse than what we measured in the past,” said Nicholas Jones, director and senior adviser for race and ethnicity research and outreach at the Census Bureau.

Diversity

In Missouri and Kansas, white residents continued to make up the vast majority of the population despite the respective 4% and 5% drop in white non-Hispanic residents — a pattern that mirrored national trends.

Kansas and Missouri’s Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and multiracial populations grew dramatically over the last decade. The states’ Black populations grew slightly, showing a 1% increase in Missouri and 0.4% increase in Kansas.

Despite increased racial and ethnic diversity statewide, Missouri and Kansas ranked 31st and 36th by the diversity index nationally. The diversity index measures the probability that two people chosen at random would be from different racial and ethnic groups.

Across both states, Wyandotte County is the most racially and ethnically diverse with a diversity index of 71.

Growth

The sluggish population growth rates in Kansas and Missouri aligned with trends for the Midwest as a whole. Compared to the West and the South, growth in the Midwest and northeast region of the country lagged behind.

However, Kansas City’s population climbed to an all-time high of over 508,000 residents — up 11% from 2010. Increases in white, Hispanic, Asian and multiracial populations largely accounted for the population gains.

Kansas City’s population growth is “a combination of the Northland growing and redevelopment occurring south of the river,” said Frank Lenk, the director of research services at the Mid-America Regional Council.

The Kansas City metro area experienced overall growth, especially in the suburbs.

“Urban areas are growing at a much faster rate than rural areas, which has been a trend for some time now and was a trend within the last decennial census as well,” Mihalik said.

According to Mihalik, this phenomenon is most pronounced in suburban areas.

For instance, across Kansas and Missouri, Platte County grew the fastest, increasing its population by almost 20%. Clay County was close behind, growing at a 14% rate.

“Platte County is a suburban county that is growing like all the suburbs are growing,” Lenk said.

Though most Missouri and Kansas counties lost residents, Wyandotte and Jackson counties were among those that exceeded population growth estimates.

At 6% growth, Jackson County surpassed expectations by a third, Lenk said. Wyandotte County, with a 7% population increase, grew 50% more than anticipated.

“These are areas that in the past have seen areas of those counties actually decline in terms of population,” Lenk said. The change suggests increased development in older parts of town and new developments in undeveloped areas, he said.

On the Kansas side of the metro area, Johnson County grew by 12%, adding more than 65,000 residents.

“Rural counties continue to lose population and urban counties don’t,” said Donna Ginther, an economics professor and director of the Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas. “There’s more employment opportunities in the urban counties, so I think people are relocating for those employment opportunities.”

The data released on Aug. 12 was the second major set of 2020 census results. More detailed data on the size and composition of the country’s population is due to be released in upcoming months.