county

Vernon County, MO

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

AI Overview

Vernon County is a small rural county of roughly 19,700 residents with an economic base oriented toward agriculture and light industry, reflected in a median worker earnings figure of $32,095 and a GDP per capita of $44,482. The labor force is relatively small, with a 56.8% participation rate and just 18.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though the unemployment rate stands at 3.9%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $136,700 and median gross rent of $722/month—but the county has seen a 4.7% population decline over five years and carries a 19.0% poverty rate.

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

Population

19,713

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$52,230

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone18,326 (93.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races541 (2.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone305 (1.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone177 (0.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race158 (0.8%)
  • Asian Alone155 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic921
  2. 2.Spanish92
  3. 3.Other Indo-European91
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island51
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)30

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

863

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$44,482

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,360

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,296
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,265
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)992
  4. 4.Construction (Group)688
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining632

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,840
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,651
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,615
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,423
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations953

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.22×)708
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.26×)1,169
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.26×)742
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.19×)1,011
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.14×)2,261

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$136,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$722/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999842 (15.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999640 (11.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999533 (9.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999444 (8.0%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999356 (6.4%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999339 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

56.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,095

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

10.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,053 (73.1%)
  • Worked At Home975 (11.8%)
  • Carpooled789 (9.5%)
  • Walked194 (2.3%)
  • Other158 (1.9%)
  • Bicycle92 (1.1%)

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.