county

Ray County, MO

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

AI Overview

Ray County is a small rural county of 23,149 residents with a modest 1.4% population gain over five years, a workforce characterized by low educational attainment—only 15.0% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—and median worker earnings of $42,295. Labor costs are comparatively low, unemployment sits at just 2.1%, and housing remains affordable with a median home value of $187,400 and median gross rent of $808 per month. A 77.5% homeownership rate and a median household income of $74,573 reflect a stable, owner-occupant community, though a GDP per capita of $21,287 and a mean commute of 34.3 minutes suggest residents largely depend on employment outside the county.

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

Population

23,149

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$74,573

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.4% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,423 (92.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races616 (2.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race327 (1.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone317 (1.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone202 (0.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone182 (0.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish305
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)63
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic38
  4. 4.Korean16
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island16

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,463

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$21,287

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,179

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,025
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,759
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,482
  4. 4.Construction (Group)893
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities839

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,059
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,688
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,353
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,420
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,324

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.85×)468
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.65×)1,798
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.31×)229
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.21×)1,444
  5. 5.Public Administration (LQ 1.17×)606

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$187,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$808/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999888 (12.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999883 (12.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999668 (9.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999610 (8.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999553 (7.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999528 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

15.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$42,295

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

34.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,219 (76.8%)
  • Worked At Home1,136 (10.6%)
  • Carpooled1,042 (9.7%)
  • Public Transit102 (1.0%)
  • Other101 (0.9%)
  • Walked96 (0.9%)

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.