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Platte City, Missouri

Platte City is a small town of about 4,900 people in Platte County, Missouri. It's the county seat. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Kansas City, is about 20 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
4,911
up 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$210,800
Platte County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$71,498
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kansas City area
92.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Leavenworth, KS
To Kansas City
20 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.5% below the U.S. average in the Kansas City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood18 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySaint John Hospital in Leavenworth, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 20 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Platte City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$210,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Platte County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,226 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$71,498U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
48%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,252 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.5U.S. average = 100 (the Kansas City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Kansas City metro area, not Platte City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,9112020: 4,779
Median age
41.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (27%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Saint John Hospital, Leavenworth, KS, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Platte City, run by Platte Co. R-III.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Missouri's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
20°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
36 a year
Nights at or below freezing
107 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.3 inches a year
Snow
18 inches a year
Elevation
970 feet

Weather station: Kansas City Intl Ap (5 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Saint John Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas City.

Platte County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harry S Truman National Historic Site34 miles
  • Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park54 miles

Read about Platte City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Platte City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Tracy, MO345 people, 2 miles
  • Ferrelview, MO656 people, 6 miles
  • Farley, MO259 people, 6 miles
  • Camden Point, MO474 people, 6 miles
  • Ridgely, MO103 people, 9 miles
  • Platte Woods, MO395 people, 11 miles
  • Lake Waukomis, MO941 people, 11 miles
  • Dearborn, MO518 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.