county

Shelby County, MO

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

AI Overview

Shelby County is a small, rural Missouri county with a population of 6,011 that has edged down 0.8% over five years, reflecting modest demographic contraction. The labor force is tight—unemployment sits at just 1.0%—though participation is relatively low at 56.4%, and educational attainment skews toward trade and workforce credentials, with only 18.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing costs are among the lowest measurable, with a median home value of $86,200 and median gross rent of $570/month, while median household income of $51,594 and median worker earnings of $35,205 point to a modest but low-cost operating environment.

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

Population

6,011

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$51,594

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone5,625 (94.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races119 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race103 (1.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone98 (1.6%)
  • Asian Alone21 (0.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone18 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish57
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island20
  3. 3.Other Indo-European14
  4. 4.Arabic4
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

440

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,223

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,270

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance605
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)293
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining253
  4. 4.Construction (Group)253
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities227

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations772
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations544
  3. 3.Service Occupations533
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations383
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations323

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.68×)242
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.45×)269
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.44×)384
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.06×)166
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.04×)132

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$86,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$570/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $80,000 to $89,999202 (10.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999201 (10.8%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999162 (8.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999149 (8.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999136 (7.3%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999108 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,205

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,981 (79.2%)
  • Walked183 (7.3%)
  • Worked At Home164 (6.6%)
  • Carpooled163 (6.5%)
  • Other9 (0.4%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.