See which counties in the Kansas City metro have grown most in the last 5 years

The Kansas City metro area has grown by more than 75,000 people since 2020, new census data shows, as population growth slowed nationwide.

The U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimates for metro areas and counties last week that gauge how many people they have gained or lost through July 2025.

Estimates broken down by city are expected to be released in May. The 2025 numbers are estimates, not exact totals. The Census Bureau will collect exact population counts during the next official census in 2030, unless a community requests a special census before then.

The new data shows that the Kansas City metropolitan area grew from an estimated 2,195,241 people in July 2020 to 2,270,682 people in July 2025, or about 3.4%.

The Kansas City area’s growth stands in contrast to the St. Louis area, which actually lost over 5,000 people in the past five years, according to the census estimates.

Nearby metro areas Des Moines and Omaha also saw growth since 2020: The Des Moines area grew by about 6.6% to 758,539 people, while the Omaha area grew by about 4.2% to 1,009,836 people.

Similarly sized metro areas in the Midwest also saw growth since 2020, including Cincinnati (2.7%), Columbus (4.7%) and Indianapolis (5.4%).

Jackson County growth driven by international migration

Jackson County, the core of the Kansas City metro area, has added more than 15,000 people since 2020 to 732,994 people, or about 2.1%.

Under the hood, estimates show that growth came from births and international migration, while Jackson County lost a net 3,925 people to domestic migration since April 2020.

(International migration in the census data includes people who were both not born in the United States and those who were, such as military members moving from overseas.)

Suburban Johnson County, the area’s second-largest county, grew about 4.2% to 636,906 people between 2020 and 2025. That’s an increase of 25,777 people.

Wyandotte County grew about 1% to 170,597, or an increase of 1,676 people.

In the Northland, Clay County grew by 10,911 people, or about 4.3% to 265,032 people, while Platte County grew by 7,213 people, or about 6.7% to 114,400 people.

And to the south, Cass County grew about 7.1% to 115,859, or an increase of 7,699 people.

Near Wyandotte, Leavenworth County grew about 3.2% to 84,590 people, or an increase of 2,616 people.

And near Johnson, Miami County grew about 5.9% to 36,240 people, or an increase of 2,016 people.

Growth slowed nationwide, Census Bureau says

According to a Census Bureau news release, population growth slowed in a majority of the nation’s counties and metro areas between July 2024 and July 2025, driven by a decline in net international migration nationwide.

The Kansas City metro area was among those seeing slower growth: it gained 17,395 people between 2024 and 2025, or about 0.77%, while it gained 29,114 people between 2023 and 2024, or about 1.3%.

Metro area growth nationwide has declined from 1.1% between 2023 and 2024 to 0.6% between 2024 and 2025.