county

Perry County, MO

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

AI Overview

Perry County is a small rural county of 18,947 residents with an economy oriented toward goods-producing and trade sectors, posting a GDP per capita of $50,864 against median worker earnings of $36,757. The labor force is modestly sized with 62.9% participation, 22.1% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 4.8%. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $189,400 and median gross rent of $923/month—with a 77.6% homeownership rate, though the county's population has edged down 1.0% over the past five years.

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

Population

18,947

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$62,981

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone17,862 (94.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races370 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race313 (1.6%)
  • Asian Alone156 (0.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone131 (0.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone131 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish290
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic188
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island112
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)39
  5. 5.Other Indo-European34

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,167

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$50,864

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,616

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,130
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,986
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)932
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities609
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services600

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,067
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,988
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,503
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,423
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,067

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.61×)523
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.24×)2,021
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.05×)558
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.01×)997
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.00×)2,123

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$189,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$923/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999792 (13.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999787 (13.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999783 (13.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999729 (12.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999598 (10.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999463 (8.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

62.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,757

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,524 (84.3%)
  • Carpooled717 (8.0%)
  • Worked At Home502 (5.6%)
  • Walked109 (1.2%)
  • Other61 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle13 (0.1%)

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.