Holt is a city in Clay and Clinton counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 471 …Holt is a city in Clay and Clinton counties in the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The population was 471 at the 2020 census. Holt was platted in 1867. The city was named for Jeremiah Abel Holt, who donated the land in 1837 and who was one of the first settlers in the area, a native of Orange County, North Carolina.