Washington County, Missouri Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Washington 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 Washington County, Missouri. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Washington County, Missouri. The estimated population of Washington County, Missouri is 23,791 people, with a median age of 40.2.

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

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
23,791
 -4.14% -4.71%
2020
24,819
 -0.16% -
2019
24,860
 -0.28% -
2018
24,931
 -0.15% -
2017
24,968
 - -

Population of Washington 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
93.3%
94.4%
 -1.17%
Black/African American
2%
2.4%
 -16.67%
Native
0%
0.2%
 -100.00%
Hispanic
1.5%
1.3%
 +15.38%
Asian
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.8%
1.6%
 +75.00%
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 Washington 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 40.2 -0.74% 39.2 -0.51% 42 0%
2020 40.5 -0.74% 39.4 0% 42 -0.47%
2019 40.8 +0.25% 39.4 +0.25% 42.2 +0.96%
2018 40.7 +0.25% 39.3 -1.01% 41.8 +0.72%
2017 40.6 - 39.7 - 41.5 -

The median age of Washington 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 1,497 +6.62% 1,541 +9.9% 1,561 1,691
10 to 19 1,712 -10.95% 1,512 -16.81% 1,529 1,263
20 to 29 1,576 -9.48% 1,409 -11.11% 1,430 1,257
30 to 39 1,718 +1.75% 1,336 +4.54% 1,747 1,389
40 to 49 1,720 -17.84% 1,619 -17.8% 1,429 1,343
50 to 59 2,050 -12.6% 1,785 -13.23% 1,797 1,554
60 to 69 1,339 +20.57% 1,537 +6.43% 1,632 1,635
70+ 1,243 -4.41% 1,374 -0.6% 1,175 1,359

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Washington County, Missouri is $44,955.00.

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 Washington County.

  • Under 25
    $43,489.00
  • 25 to 44
    $53,097.00
  • 45 to 64
    $55,500.00
  • 65 and over
    $37,250.00

Average Household Income

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

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Washington 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 Washington County, Missouri is currently $68,538.00.

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.

2.58% of households in Washington 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 Washington County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    26.44%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    26.17%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    19.60%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.98%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    9.69%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    2.55%
  • $200,000 or more
    2.58%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Washington County is $26,024.00.

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

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Washington 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 Washington 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
    7.76%
  • Bachelor's degree
    15.11%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    14.00%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    60.43%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.71%

Employment

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

The total population of Washington County over the age of 16 is 19,061.

Of those people, a total of 50.90% 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 Washington County is 47.90%.

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 1,314 40.30% 19.60%
20 to 24 years 1,212 72.50% 5.60%
25 to 29 years 1,475 56.10% 12.90%
30 to 34 years 1,411 71.80% 2.00%
35 to 44 years 2,886 72.60% 5.00%
45 to 54 years 3,300 65.80% 3.50%
55 to 59 years 1,662 55.40% 4.20%
60 to 64 years 1,890 31.60% 8.40%
65 to 74 years 2,417 22.10% 1.10%
75 years and over 1,494 8.80% 3.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Washington 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 18,089 52.60% 5.70%
Black or African American 469 2.80% 15.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 28 85.70% 0.00%
Asian 26 38.50% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 28 50.00% 0.00%
Other 0 0.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 421 28.70% 16.50%
Hispanic or Latino 272 58.50% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 17,858 52.50% 5.70%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Washington 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 Washington County is 9,138, with median earnings of $33,319.00.

Women in Washington County, Missouri earning approximately 55.50% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 9,138 $33,319.00
Male 4,997 $44,012.00
Female 4,141 $24,446.00

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 645 $37,127.00
Business and Financial 311 $58,594.00
Computer and Mathematical 143 $58,250.00
Architecture and Engineering 8 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 12 $0.00
Community and Social Service 179 $44,850.00
Legal 43 $0.00
Educational and Library 417 $32,321.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 40 $19,074.00
Healthcare Practitioners 665 $46,743.00
Healthcare Support 676 $20,849.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 86 $63,266.00
Law Enforcement 71 $33,125.00
Food Preparation and Serving 264 $13,750.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 353 $18,638.00
Personal Care and Service 144 $23,750.00
Sales 880 $32,798.00
Office and Administrative Support 889 $24,571.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 57 $39,135.00
Construction and Extraction 901 $59,375.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 304 $54,926.00
Production 1,124 $34,045.00
Transportation and Material Moving 423 $26,360.00

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 426 $49,286.00 219 $36,130.00
Business and Financial 164 $66,346.00 147 $32,958.00
Computer and Mathematical 85 $19,107.00 58 $59,500.00
Architecture and Engineering 8 $0.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 12 $0.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 74 $44,800.00 105 $45,125.00
Legal 0 $0.00 43 $0.00
Educational and Library 39 $33,393.00 378 $31,429.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00 40 $19,074.00
Healthcare Practitioners 196 $55,774.00 469 $36,964.00
Healthcare Support 104 $57,759.00 572 $19,063.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 81 $63,367.00 5 $0.00
Law Enforcement 48 $32,292.00 23 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 103 $8,839.00 161 $16,645.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 113 $31,350.00 240 $13,871.00
Personal Care and Service 56 $14,706.00 88 $24,537.00
Sales 398 $34,732.00 482 $21,335.00
Office and Administrative Support 242 $28,000.00 647 $23,836.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 57 $39,135.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 901 $59,375.00 0 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 304 $54,926.00 0 $0.00
Production 839 $44,917.00 285 $25,481.00
Transportation and Material Moving 364 $34,219.00 59 $23,520.00

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 8,801 households in Washington County, with an average household size of 2.59 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 6,010 families in Washington County with an average family size of 3.11 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 4,557 628 825 2,791
Average Household Size 3.16 2.98 3.73 1.25
Total Families 4,557 628 825 0
Average Household Size 3.14 2.63 3.33 0

Poverty

Of the 6,010 families in Washington County, 14.30% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Washington 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 10,769 housing units in Washington County, Missouri.

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

Total Percentage
Occupied 8,801 81.73%
Vacant 1,968 18.27%

13.55% of the total 10,769 housing units in Washington County are rental units. This is approximately 1,459 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 6,892 are occupied by the owner - or 64.00% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Washington County is $628.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Washington 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
    450
  • Less than $500
    367
  • $500 to $999
    978
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    85
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    26
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    3
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Washington County is $103,000.00.

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

  • Less than $50,000
    1,745
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    1,621
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    1,319
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    789
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    674
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    528
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    200
  • $1,000,000 or more
    16

Property Age

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

  • 1939 or earlier
    844
  • 1940 to 1949
    545
  • 1950 to 1959
    968
  • 1960 to 1969
    1,137
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,667
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,734
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,877
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,563
  • 2010 to 2013
    434
  • 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 Washington County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    598
  • 1 vehicle available
    2,133
  • 2 vehicles available
    3,082
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    2,988

Commuting to Work

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

33.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Washington 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
    378
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    1,007
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    779
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    854
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    921
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    443
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    939
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    366
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    419
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    611
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    1,123
  • 90 or more minutes
    695

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Washington 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 Washington County, Missouri

We have data for 14 places in Washington County, Missouri. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.