county

Bates County, MO

Demographic and economic profile of Bates County, MO, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Bates County is a small rural Missouri county of 16,121 residents with a labor force participation rate of 57.3% and a relatively older workforce (median age 41.4), where just 15.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Worker earnings median at $35,565 against a median household income of $60,733, with housing costs remaining low—median home value of $154,800 and gross rent of $760/month—though an 18.7% poverty rate and 6.1% unemployment signal ongoing economic pressure. The county's population has contracted 1.5% over five years, and GDP per capita of $29,318 reflects a modest output base in a predominantly rural, owner-occupied community where 74.9% of residents own their homes.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

16,121

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$60,733

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.5% since 2018

Bates County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,006 (92.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race359 (2.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone346 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races336 (2.1%)
  • Asian Alone65 (0.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone38 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic246
  2. 2.Spanish72
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic33
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)29
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island14

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

922

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$29,318

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,444

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,360
  2. 2.Construction (Group)1,075
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,017
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)690
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining578

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,257
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,471
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,282
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,123
  5. 5.Service Occupations991

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.10×)564
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 2.08×)996
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.32×)995
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.07×)434
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 0.99×)681

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$154,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$760/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

74.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $250,000 to $299,999548 (11.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999479 (10.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999421 (9.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999388 (8.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999385 (8.3%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999302 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,565

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

32.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,629 (80.6%)
  • Worked At Home683 (9.8%)
  • Carpooled473 (6.8%)
  • Walked115 (1.6%)
  • Other67 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit15 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.