county

Cole County, MO

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

AI Overview

Cole County is Missouri's seat of state government, with an economy anchored in public administration; its GDP per capita of $72,589 runs well above median worker earnings of $41,956, reflecting the capital-city employment base in Jefferson City. The county's labor pool of roughly 48,500 workers (62.5% participation rate) skews educated—37.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with a 3.0% unemployment rate and low poverty at 9.3%. Housing costs remain modest, with a median home value of $214,400 and median gross rent of $804/month, though population growth was nearly flat at +0.2% over the past five years.

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

Population

77,625

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$74,876

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.2% since 2018

Cole County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone61,853 (80.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone7,563 (9.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,552 (4.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,546 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,132 (1.5%)
  • Asian Alone1,130 (1.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,215
  2. 2.Other Indo-European383
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island314
  4. 4.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)221
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic149

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

4,585

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$72,589

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,325

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

9.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance8,487
  2. 2.Public Administration (Group)5,886
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)4,178
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services3,385
  5. 5.Construction (Group)3,094

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations16,990
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations8,367
  3. 3.Service Occupations5,097
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,139
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,418

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 3.20×)5,659
  2. 2.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.19×)2,977
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.15×)2,963
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.06×)4,310
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 0.97×)8,449

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$214,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$804/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

67.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9993,815 (18.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9993,086 (14.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9992,533 (12.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9992,217 (10.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,623 (7.7%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,581 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

37.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,956

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

17.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone29,596 (78.0%)
  • Worked At Home3,496 (9.2%)
  • Carpooled3,298 (8.7%)
  • Other657 (1.7%)
  • Walked499 (1.3%)
  • Public Transit179 (0.5%)

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.