county

Cooper County, MO

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

AI Overview

Cooper County is a small, predominantly owner-occupied rural county of 16,835 residents with a 78.2% homeownership rate and a median home value of $197,100, reflecting low housing costs relative to broader Missouri benchmarks. The labor force is modestly educated—24.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with median worker earnings of $38,593, a labor force participation rate of 57.1%, and an unemployment rate of 4.5%. Population has contracted 4.5% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $28,515 against a per capita income of $29,695 points to a relatively modest local economic base.

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

Population

16,835

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,625

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,831 (88.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone945 (5.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races547 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race408 (2.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone55 (0.3%)
  • Asian Alone21 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic156
  2. 2.Spanish108
  3. 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)70
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island26
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)24

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

899

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$28,515

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,695

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,757
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,039
  3. 3.Construction (Group)677
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)631
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services602

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,858
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,520
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,303
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations992
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations841

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.30×)387
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.42×)722
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.22×)424
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.19×)955
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.16×)402

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$197,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$763/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999937 (19.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999617 (13.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999508 (10.7%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999382 (8.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999329 (7.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999306 (6.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$38,593

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

27.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,921 (79.6%)
  • Carpooled748 (10.0%)
  • Worked At Home477 (6.4%)
  • Walked122 (1.6%)
  • Other67 (0.9%)
  • Taxi58 (0.8%)

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.