| County: | Leavenworth County |
| State: | Kansas |
| Type: | County |
| Ex Image: | Leavenworth county kansas courthouse 2009.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Leavenworth County Courthouse in Leavenworth |
| Founded: | August 25, 1855 |
| Named For: | Henry Leavenworth |
| Seat Wl: | Leavenworth |
| Largest City Wl: | Leavenworth |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 469 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 463 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 6.1 |
| Area Percentage: | 1.3% |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 81881 |
| Pop Est Footnotes: | [1] |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Est: | 83,518 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 176.8 |
| District: | 2nd |
| Time Zone: | Central |
Leavenworth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.[2] Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth.[3] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 81,881.[4] The county was named after Henry Leavenworth, a general in the Indian Wars who established Fort Leavenworth.
See also: History of Kansas. For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Leavenworth County was established, and is among the first 33 counties, which were formed by the first territorial government. It was named, as was its county seat, after Henry Leavenworth, an officer in the War of 1812.[5]
Leavenworth County had the first Kansas State University extension agent in the State.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (1.3%) is water.[6] It is the fifth-smallest county in Kansas by total area.
This county's watershed connects with both the Kansas River basin on the south via Stranger Creek and has a Missouri River port city to the east.[7] [8]
The county is a part of the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.
As of the census of 2000, there were 68,691 people, 23,071 households, and 17,210 families residing in the county. The population density was 148/mi2. There were 24,401 housing units at an average density of 53/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 84.2% White, 10.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population.
There were 23,071 households, out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 113.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,114, and the median income for a family was $55,805. Males had a median income of $40,047 versus $26,029 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,292. About 4.8% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Leavenworth County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.[9]
The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 59% to 41% despite backing Donald Trump with 59% of the vote to Joe Biden's 38% in the 2020 presidential election.[10]
School districts include:[11]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Leavenworth County.[15]
‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.
Leavenworth County is divided into ten townships. The cities of Lansing and Leavenworth are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
| Township | Population center | Population | Population density /km2 (/sq mi) | Land area km2 (sq mi) | Water area km2 (sq mi) | Water % | Geographic coordinates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | 01100 | 859 | 7 (18) | 123 (48) | 1 (0) | 0.62% | 39.2689°N -95.1258°W | ||
| Delaware | 17450 | 1,361 | 22 (57) | 62 (24) | 3 (1) | 4.19% | 39.2472°N -94.8778°W | ||
| Easton | 19625 | 1,245 | 11 (30) | 109 (42) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | 39.3658°N -95.1242°W | ||
| Fairmount | 22325 | 6,266 | 61 (159) | 102 (39) | 0 (0) | 0.39% | 39.1344°N -94.9406°W | ||
| High Prairie | 32125 | 1,768 | 14 (37) | 124 (48) | 0 (0) | 0.27% | 39.2583°N -95.0094°W | ||
| 36700 | 1,760 | 15 (40) | 114 (44) | 3 (1) | 2.39% | 39.3458°N -94.9914°W | |||
| Reno | 58950 | 1,143 | 10 (27) | 111 (43) | 2 (1) | 1.56% | 39.0189°N -95.1356°W | ||
| 65000 | 2,367 | 22 (57) | 108 (42) | 3 (1) | 2.44% | 39.0164°N -95.0075°W | |||
| Stranger | 68500 | 2,451 | 19 (50) | 127 (49) | 0 (0) | 0.17% | 39.1378°N -95.0339°W | ||
| Tonganoxie | 70825 | 4,852 | 35 (91) | 137 (53) | 1 (0) | 0.66% | 39.1167°N -95.1097°W | ||
| Sources: Web site: Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files . U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020802223743/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html . August 2, 2002. | |||||||||
See also: List of people from Leavenworth County, Kansas.