Despite the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination efforts, the novel coronavirus continues to spread through the United States. To date, 24,034,512 Americans have been infected with the virus — and 394,081 have died as a result. On a per capita basis, the U.S. has one of the highest known infections rates in the world.
In the Kansas City metropolitan area, which covers parts of Missouri and Kansas, a total of 114,122 COVID-19 cases have been reported to date. Adjusted for population, there have been 5,417 reported infections for every 100,000 people in the area — below the national rate of 7,346 cases per 100,000 people.
The lower than average per capita COVID-19 infection rate across Kansas City is being driven disproportionately by one area in particular.
The broader Kansas City metro area comprises 14 counties or county equivalents — and of them, Platte County has the fewest COVID-19 cases per capita. So far, there have been a total of 2,799 infections in Platte County, or 2,832 for every 100,000 people.
Though Platte County has the lowest per capita infection rate in the Kansas City metro area, its per capita fatality rate is closely in line with the regional average.
There have been a total of 30 coronavirus-related deaths for every 100,000 people in Platte County, compared to 31 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 across the entire Kansas City metro area.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Jan. 20, 2021.
| Geography: | COVID cases per 100,000 people: | Total cases: | Deaths per 100,000 people: | Total deaths: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platte County | 2,832 | 2,799 | 30 | 30 |
| Clay County | 2,988 | 7,147 | 50 | 120 |
| Jackson County | 3,892 | 26,934 | 42 | 290 |
| Linn County | 5,532 | 533 | N/A | N/A |
| Ray County | 5,788 | 1,321 | 66 | 15 |
| Bates County | 5,930 | 971 | 92 | 15 |
| Miami County | 6,019 | 1,994 | N/A | N/A |
| Cass County | 6,324 | 6,493 | 66 | 68 |
| Caldwell County | 6,620 | 599 | 88 | 8 |
| Johnson County | 6,741 | 39,471 | N/A | N/A |
| Leavenworth County | 6,830 | 5,467 | N/A | N/A |
| Clinton County | 6,965 | 1,426 | 293 | 60 |
| Lafayette County | 7,097 | 2,313 | 138 | 45 |
| Wyandotte County | 10,134 | 16,654 | N/A | N/A |
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