Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Bolivar, 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 Bolivar, Missouri. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Bolivar, Missouri. The estimated population of Bolivar, Missouri is 10,718 people, with a median age of 31.5.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
10,718
-2.56% +0.60%
2020
11,000
+1.1%
-
2019
10,880
+1.12%
-
2018
10,760
+0.99%
-
2017
10,654
- -

Population of Bolivar, 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
91.8%
91.1%
+0.77%
Black/African American
3%
1.6%
+87.50%
Native
0.4%
0.5%
-20.00%
Hispanic
3.2%
4%
-20.00%
Asian
0.2%
0.1%
+100.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0.1%
-100.00%
Two Or More Races
1.2%
2.6%
-53.85%
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 Bolivar, 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 31.5 +6.78% 30.5 +3.04% 32 +8.84%
2020 29.5 +3.51% 29.6 +2.07% 29.4 +5%
2019 28.5 -1.04% 29 +1.05% 28 -2.78%
2018 28.8 -2.37% 28.7 -0.69% 28.8 -5.26%
2017 29.5 - 28.9 - 30.4 -

The median age of Bolivar, 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 9 585 +15.49% 617 -3.91% 668 569
10 to 19 850 +1.91% 925 +9.08% 858 1,007
20 to 29 1,158 -24.75% 1,287 -0.28% 887 1,274
30 to 39 742 -6.27% 569 -6.27% 673 526
40 to 49 375 +18.55% 424 +38.09% 439 537
50 to 59 304 +52.04% 455 -17.46% 491 380
60 to 69 465 1.68% 569 -10.9% 426 508
70+ 501 -15.46% 828 +29.64% 403 1,072

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Bolivar, Missouri is $37,233.00.

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 Bolivar.

  • Under 25
    $20,875.00
  • 25 to 44
    $42,760.00
  • 45 to 64
    $47,031.00
  • 65 and over
    $27,377.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Bolivar, 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 Bolivar, Missouri is currently $51,448.00.

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.

0.85% of households in Bolivar 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 Bolivar against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    36.40%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    28.40%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    12.03%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    10.57%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    8.13%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3.62%
  • $200,000 or more
    0.85%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Bolivar is $19,627.00.

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

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

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Bolivar 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
    8.76%
  • Bachelor's degree
    26.42%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    13.33%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    50.52%
  • Less than high school diploma
    0.97%

Employment

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

The total population of Bolivar over the age of 16 is 8,504.

Of those people, a total of 52.90% 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 Bolivar is 50.80%.

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 888 41.00% 8.00%
20 to 24 years 1,642 66.10% 3.00%
25 to 29 years 519 72.80% 3.70%
30 to 34 years 609 88.50% 4.70%
35 to 44 years 1,174 82.90% 5.50%
45 to 54 years 700 56.60% 1.50%
55 to 59 years 563 46.90% 0.00%
60 to 64 years 549 54.10% 4.00%
65 to 74 years 879 19.20% 0.00%
75 years and over 981 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 Bolivar. 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 7,928 53.30% 2.50%
Black or African American 319 46.10% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 55 49.10% 0.00%
Asian 25 0.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 12 0.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 165 63.60% 62.90%
Hispanic or Latino 229 35.40% 14.80%
Not Hispanic or Latino 7,804 53.70% 2.60%

Occupations

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

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Bolivar is 4,318, with median earnings of $18,669.00.

Women in Bolivar, Missouri earning approximately 50.80% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 4,318 $18,669.00
Male 1,947 $28,227.00
Female 2,371 $14,328.00

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 447 $61,902.00
Business and Financial 103 $51,382.00
Computer and Mathematical 35 $59,432.00
Architecture and Engineering 64 $43,810.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 173 $35,996.00
Legal 13 $0.00
Educational and Library 392 $26,767.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 56 $6,111.00
Healthcare Practitioners 406 $45,625.00
Healthcare Support 316 $13,598.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 391 $9,361.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 41 $6,151.00
Personal Care and Service 183 $8,268.00
Sales 325 $12,762.00
Office and Administrative Support 594 $15,227.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 21 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 107 $29,688.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 215 $56,094.00
Production 146 $17,419.00
Transportation and Material Moving 108 $14,216.00

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 248 $104,521.00 199 $32,557.00
Business and Financial 32 $0.00 71 $51,776.00
Computer and Mathematical 35 $59,432.00 0 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 51 $43,036.00 13 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 145 $36,543.00 28 $0.00
Legal 13 $0.00 0 $0.00
Educational and Library 92 $53,750.00 300 $25,948.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 2 $0.00 54 $6,389.00
Healthcare Practitioners 90 $27,321.00 316 $45,682.00
Healthcare Support 52 $0.00 264 $13,455.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 259 $9,304.00 132 $10,116.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 6 $0.00 35 $0.00
Personal Care and Service 6 $0.00 177 $8,136.00
Sales 136 $4,573.00 189 $14,273.00
Office and Administrative Support 157 $19,096.00 437 $11,946.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 21 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 94 $38,026.00 13 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 215 $56,094.00 0 $0.00
Production 113 $29,076.00 33 $0.00
Transportation and Material Moving 62 $16,346.00 46 $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 3,898 households in Bolivar, with an average household size of 2.4 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 2,257 families in Bolivar with an average family size of 3.12 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 1,496 167 594 1,641
Average Household Size 3.18 3.02 3.57 1.22
Total Families 1,496 167 594 0
Average Household Size 3.18 2.43 3.17 0

Poverty

Of the 2,257 families in Bolivar, 12.80% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Bolivar:

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 4,330 housing units in Bolivar, Missouri.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 3,898 90.02%
Vacant 432 9.98%

39.19% of the total 4,330 housing units in Bolivar are rental units. This is approximately 1,697 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 2,149 are occupied by the owner - or 49.63% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Bolivar is $714.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Bolivar 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
    323
  • $500 to $999
    1,038
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    292
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    29
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    15
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Bolivar is $139,400.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    81
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    499
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    617
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    561
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    240
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    115
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    0
  • $1,000,000 or more
    36

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    261
  • 1940 to 1949
    76
  • 1950 to 1959
    133
  • 1960 to 1969
    459
  • 1970 to 1979
    916
  • 1980 to 1989
    956
  • 1990 to 1999
    662
  • 2000 to 2009
    742
  • 2010 to 2013
    125
  • 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 Bolivar that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    278
  • 1 vehicle available
    1,828
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,105
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    687

Commuting to Work

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

21 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Bolivar.

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
    510
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,131
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    554
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    297
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    311
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    15
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    263
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    200
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    297
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    418
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    74
  • 90 or more minutes
    95

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Bolivar, 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.