Warrensburg, Missouri, United States

🇺🇸 Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The Warrensburg micropolitan statistical area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town, as it is home to the University of Central Missouri.

History Warrensburg was founded in 1835 by European-American settlers John and Martin D. Warren, who gave the town their last name. A post office called Warrensburg has been in operation since 1837. The phrase "Man's best friend" is based on a famous trial over the killing of Old Drum, a dog that was shot in Warrensburg. In 1958, a statue of Old Drum was erected on the Johnson County Courthouse lawn containing a summation of US Senator George G. Vest's closing speech, “A man’s best friend is his dog.”

Demographics The 2020 United States census counted 20,313 people, 7,398 households, and 3,418 families in Warrensburg. The population density was 2,054.9 inhabitants per square mile (793.4/km²). The 8,202 housing units had an average density of 871.6 per square mile (336.5/km²). The racial makeup was 79.07% White, 7.78% African American, 0.55% Native American or Alaska Native, 2.7% Asian, 0.58% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races, and 7.92% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race was 4.5% of the population.

Of the 7,398 households, 24.7% had children under 18, 33.7% were married couples living together, 34.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were individuals living alone, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1.

The city's age distribution was 19.1% under 18, 33.6% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 24.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 96.2 males.

The 2016-2020 five-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $48,306 (with a margin of error of +/- $5,061) and the median family income was $73,995 (+/- $4,609). Males had a median income of $23,972 (+/- $2,489) versus $14,801 (+/- $2,763) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $18,108 (+/- $3,142). About 7.7% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under 18 and 12.8% of those 65 or over.

Education Public elementary and secondary schools in Warrensburg are part of the Warrensburg R-VI School District. The district includes four elementary schools for grades preschool through fifth grade. Maple Grove and Ridgeview Elementary schools are for grades preschool through second grade while Martin Warren and Sterling elementary schools house students in grades three through five. Warrensburg Middle School serves students in grades six through eight and Warrensburg High School is for grades nine through 12. The district also operates the Reese Education Center, which houses the Gateway Alternative School and the district's special needs and gifted education programs. The Warrensburg Area Career Center specializes in vocational education for high school-aged students in Warrensburg and Johnson County.

The city is also home of the University of Central Missouri (UCM), known as Central Missouri State University until 2006. The university offers programs in 150 areas of study and serves around 12,500 students as of 2014.

Warrensburg has two public libraries, one of them a branch of the Trails Regional Library, and the other, the James C. Kirkpatrick Library, in the University of Central Missouri.

Transport: Road • US 50 - Links to Lee's Summit and further to Kansas City to the west and Sedalia to the east. • Route 13 - or Maguire Street, essentially divides the town in half though Old Highway 13 or Holden Street forms the division between east and west. This is a highway linking Warrensburg to Interstate 70 to the north, and Truman Lake to the south.

Transport: Air • Skyhaven Airport

Other • The Warrensburg Amtrak station provides Amtrak service between Kansas City and St. Louis via the Missouri River Runner. • Jefferson Lines bus service to/from Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri • "Emergency Taxi Service" – taxi service serving the Johnson County area.

Media: Print • Warrensburg Star-Journal – Tuesday and Friday

Media: Television • KMOS-TV (PBS), PBS 6.1, CREATE CHANNEL 6.2 and PBS WORLD 6.3. The city of license is Sedalia, MO. The offices and studios are located on the campus of UCM in Warrensburg.

Media: Radio • KWKJ-FM, 98.5FM Operated in Windsor, but headquartered in Warrensburg with a Country format • KOKO (AM), 1450 AM Oldies radio along with 98.5 make up WarrensburgRadio.com