county

Howell County, MO

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

AI Overview

Howell County is a rural Missouri county of 40,168 residents with an economy built around lower-wage industries, reflected in a median household income of $50,993, per capita income of $26,493, and a poverty rate of 21.4%. The labor force is relatively small—participation stands at just 54.3%—and educational attainment is limited, with only 17.5% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though 85.9% have a high school diploma. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $161,000 and median gross rent of $722/month, and population has been essentially flat with just 0.2% growth over five years.

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

Population

40,168

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$50,993

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.2% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone37,171 (92.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,260 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race800 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone644 (1.6%)
  • Black or African American Alone216 (0.5%)
  • Asian Alone183 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish501
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic193
  3. 3.Other Indo-European123
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)96
  5. 5.Vietnamese60

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,808

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,003

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,493

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

21.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance5,262
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,905
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)1,854
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,376
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities1,330

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,811
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations3,513
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,267
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,553
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,680

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.47×)381
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.37×)5,208
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.33×)2,352
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.25×)1,192
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.18×)442

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$161,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$722/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

70.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,332 (11.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,266 (11.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,088 (9.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999874 (7.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999793 (7.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999779 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$33,405

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone12,718 (77.6%)
  • Carpooled2,318 (14.1%)
  • Worked At Home982 (6.0%)
  • Walked148 (0.9%)
  • Other128 (0.8%)
  • Motorcycle73 (0.4%)

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.