16,394 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.1% since 2020)
837 square miles of land · 20 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
15 active community water systems list Bates County in the area they serve, reporting 18,899 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| BUTLER PWS surface water · local government · MO1010118 | 4,219 served |
| BATES COUNTY PWSD 5 buys surface water · local government · MO1024034 | 2,690 served |
| BATES COUNTY PWSD 6 buys surface water · local government · MO1024035 | 2,600 served |
| BATES COUNTY PWSD 4 buys surface water · local government · MO1024033 | 2,348 served |
| ADRIAN PWS surface water · local government · MO1010001 | 1,635 served |
| RICH HILL PWS surface water · local government · MO1010682 | 1,400 served |
| CASS BATES COUNTY PWSD 12 buys groundwater · local government · MO1021098 | 1,335 served |
| BATES COUNTY PWSD 2 surface water · local government · MO1024031 | 752 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 11 people were held in Bates County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 111 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 111.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
7 school districts have their office in Bates County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $12.4 million — $10.5 million to run schools, about $10,549 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $5.3 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.8 million.
Spent $8.1 million — $7.5 million to run schools, about $10,290 per student, plus $288,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.7 million local (mostly property tax), $4.8 million state, $903,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.6 million.
Spent $4.5 million — $4.3 million to run schools, about $11,983 per student, plus $154,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2 million local (mostly property tax), $2.2 million state, $784,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.4 million.
Spent $2.7 million — $2.6 million to run schools, about $14,807 per student, plus $74,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.2 million local (mostly property tax), $1.4 million state, $270,000 federal.
Spent $2 million — $1.9 million to run schools, about $16,857 per student, plus $75,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $831,000 local (mostly property tax), $1 million state, $278,000 federal.
Spent $2 million — $1.9 million to run schools, about $18,490 per student, plus $49,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $945,000 local (mostly property tax), $1 million state, $438,000 federal. Long-term debt: $495,000.
Spent $970,000 — $725,000 to run schools, about $14,500 per student, plus $99,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $400,000 local (mostly property tax), $361,000 state, $247,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Bates County about $8.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
320 bridges in Bates County: 58 in good condition, 228 fair, and 34 poor (10.6%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| IS 49 S over BR OF MUDDY CR · built 1969 | 12,536 vehicles a day |
| IS 49 N over MORMON FK CR · built 1969 | 10,324 vehicles a day |
| IS 49 S over MORMON FK CR · built 1926 | 10,271 vehicles a day |
| IS 49 S over MUDDY CR · built 1960 | 7,398 vehicles a day |
| RT A E over IS 49 · built 1969 | 4,068 vehicles a day |
| MO 52 E over MOUND BR · built 1969 | 2,228 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $38.7 million of work in Bates County in fiscal 2025, about $2,410 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Missouri are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Bates County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Bates County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Missouri: the state government and every county in Missouri.
Nearby counties: Cass County (27 mi) · Linn County, KS (28 mi) · Vernon County (28 mi) · Henry County (31 mi) · St. Clair County (34 mi) · Miami County, KS (34 mi).