Jefferson

Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the 16th most populous city in the state, but the 9th least populous U.S. state capital. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principal city of the Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-most-populous metropolitan area in Mid-Missouri and the fifth-most populous in the state. It forms part of the nine-county Columbia–Jefferson City–Moberly combined statistical area, which has 415,747 residents. Most of the city is located within Cole County, with a small northern section extending into adjacent Callaway County.

Jefferson City is named for Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third President of the United States, 1801–1809, and earlier major author of the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. He also served several diplomatic posts overseas in Europe and was the first U.S. Secretary of State (1790–1793) in the first President’s Cabinet of George Washington, and subsequently the second Vice President (1797–1801) under second chief executive John Adams.