Howard County, Missouri Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Howard County, Missouri, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Howard County, Missouri. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Howard County, Missouri. The estimated population of Howard County, Missouri is 10,147 people, with a median age of 38.5.

We can look at the total population in Howard County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
10,147
+1.25%
+0.03%
2020
10,022
 -0.36% -
2019
10,058
 -0.54% -
2018
10,113
 -0.31% -
2017
10,144
 - -

Population of Howard County, Missouri by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
88%
90.8%
 -3.08%
Black/African American
5.2%
5.1%
 +1.96%
Native
0.6%
0.5%
 +20.00%
Hispanic
1.8%
1.4%
 +28.57%
Asian
0.4%
0.2%
 +100.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0.1%
 -100.00%
Two Or More Races
3.8%
1.9%
 +100.00%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Howard County, Missouri by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 38.5 -0.77% 39 +1.56% 38.2 -2.3%
2020 38.8 -0.77% 38.4 +0.52% 39.1 -2.49%
2019 39.1 -0.51% 38.2 -2.3% 40.1 +1.78%
2018 39.3 +1.03% 39.1 +0.51% 39.4 +1.55%
2017 38.9 - 38.9 - 38.8 -

The median age of Howard County, Missouri gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 603 +9.44% 619 -18.04% 658 513
10 to 19 776 0.24% 711 -0.49% 773 703
20 to 29 694 -3.1% 723 +3.36% 668 738
30 to 39 480 +26.23% 558 +22.74% 615 696
40 to 49 586 -32.73% 446 -9.26% 415 406
50 to 59 805 -23.72% 748 -26.91% 630 563
60 to 69 607 +1.3% 584 +17.27% 612 689
70+ 518 +35.76% 686 +7.9% 727 741

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Howard County, Missouri is $58,596.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Howard County.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $59,539.00
  • 45 to 64
    $82,996.00
  • 65 and over
    $44,122.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Howard County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Howard County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Howard County, Missouri is currently $74,393.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

4.36% of households in Howard County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Howard County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    15.66%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    28.34%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    16.42%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    15.13%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    16.04%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.05%
  • $200,000 or more
    4.36%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Howard County is $25,827.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Howard County by the total population of Howard County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Howard County, Missouri, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Howard County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    16.08%
  • Bachelor's degree
    23.54%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    9.54%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    47.72%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.11%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Howard County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Howard County over the age of 16 is 8,167.

Of those people, a total of 55.80% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Howard County is 53.30%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 667 35.20% 16.60%
20 to 24 years 902 57.10% 3.70%
25 to 29 years 504 76.40% 4.70%
30 to 34 years 548 90.00% 0.00%
35 to 44 years 1,074 79.10% 2.40%
45 to 54 years 1,072 88.80% 5.80%
55 to 59 years 631 68.00% 5.40%
60 to 64 years 795 59.40% 5.30%
65 to 74 years 1,132 17.00% 0.00%
75 years and over 842 3.80% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Howard County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 7,374 56.20% 4.60%
Black or African American 421 46.10% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 49 38.80% 42.10%
Asian 45 26.70% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 3 100.00% 0.00%
Other 20 40.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 255 69.80% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 126 46.80% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 7,294 56.00% 4.70%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Howard County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Howard County is 4,356, with median earnings of $34,877.00.

Women in Howard County, Missouri earning approximately 71.90% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 4,356 $34,877.00
Male 2,171 $41,578.00
Female 2,185 $29,914.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 452 $52,900.00
Business and Financial 144 $65,625.00
Computer and Mathematical 92 $88,929.00
Architecture and Engineering 7 $38,750.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 9 $0.00
Community and Social Service 91 $37,159.00
Legal 24 $63,750.00
Educational and Library 456 $45,338.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 24 $18,056.00
Healthcare Practitioners 328 $36,750.00
Healthcare Support 265 $20,729.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 18 $90,250.00
Law Enforcement 49 $41,250.00
Food Preparation and Serving 316 $10,161.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 106 $29,038.00
Personal Care and Service 111 $10,481.00
Sales 269 $12,386.00
Office and Administrative Support 477 $26,917.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 19 $73,125.00
Construction and Extraction 193 $68,125.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 222 $54,600.00
Production 386 $38,354.00
Transportation and Material Moving 173 $46,433.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 265 $50,893.00 187 $54,018.00
Business and Financial 60 $66,094.00 84 $60,625.00
Computer and Mathematical 63 $210,372.00 29 $64,875.00
Architecture and Engineering 4 $0.00 3 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 4 $0.00 5 $0.00
Community and Social Service 15 $0.00 76 $37,639.00
Legal 14 $81,071.00 10 $0.00
Educational and Library 156 $62,537.00 300 $37,206.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 15 $7,344.00 9 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 33 $47,656.00 295 $36,729.00
Healthcare Support 49 $5,982.00 216 $22,500.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 11 $0.00 7 $0.00
Law Enforcement 38 $40,000.00 11 $48,125.00
Food Preparation and Serving 130 $9,286.00 186 $11,176.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 84 $34,167.00 22 $18,333.00
Personal Care and Service 4 $0.00 107 $10,288.00
Sales 105 $39,531.00 164 $6,512.00
Office and Administrative Support 120 $40,781.00 357 $25,083.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 17 $73,542.00 2 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 188 $69,167.00 5 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 210 $55,192.00 12 $0.00
Production 302 $38,476.00 84 $34,737.00
Transportation and Material Moving 160 $46,402.00 13 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 3,186 households in Howard County, with an average household size of 2.94 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 2,243 families in Howard County with an average family size of 3.51 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 1,825 70 348 943
Average Household Size 3.35 6.79 4.44 1.3
Total Families 1,825 70 348 0
Average Household Size 3.33 4.96 4.17 0

Poverty

Of the 2,243 families in Howard County, 3.90% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Howard County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 4,393 housing units in Howard County, Missouri.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 3,186 72.52%
Vacant 1,207 27.48%

12.38% of the total 4,393 housing units in Howard County are rental units. This is approximately 544 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 2,590 are occupied by the owner - or 58.96% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Howard County is $712.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Howard County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    52
  • Less than $500
    141
  • $500 to $999
    333
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    58
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    12
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Howard County is $142,400.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Howard County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    262
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    693
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    387
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    361
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    462
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    206
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    152
  • $1,000,000 or more
    67

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Howard County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Howard County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    979
  • 1940 to 1949
    268
  • 1950 to 1959
    477
  • 1960 to 1969
    586
  • 1970 to 1979
    535
  • 1980 to 1989
    465
  • 1990 to 1999
    359
  • 2000 to 2009
    494
  • 2010 to 2013
    230
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Howard County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    98
  • 1 vehicle available
    707
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,475
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    906

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Howard County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Howard County that commute to work in a particular way.

26.4 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Howard County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    254
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    549
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    500
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    350
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    429
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    300
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    561
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    214
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    274
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    287
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    126
  • 90 or more minutes
    113

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Howard County, Missouri in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Howard County, Missouri

We have data for 11 places in Howard County, Missouri. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.