county

Ripley County, MO

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

AI Overview

Ripley County is a small, rural Missouri county of 10,755 residents with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $19,809 and median household income of $42,037, pointing to a workforce concentrated in lower-wage sectors. The labor force participation rate is low at 52.0%, only 12.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings stand at $30,781, indicating a cost-competitive but educationally limited talent pool. Housing costs are notably low—median home value of $110,800 and median gross rent of $666/month—though a 19.7% poverty rate, 4.6% unemployment, and a sharp five-year population decline of 21.5% signal sustained demographic contraction.

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

Population

10,755

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$42,037

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-21.5% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone9,921 (92.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races402 (3.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race260 (2.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone49 (0.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone34 (0.3%)
  • Asian Alone30 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish36
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)35
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic27
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)3
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

744

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$19,809

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,691

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

19.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance964
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)623
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services393
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities391
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)367

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,185
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations917
  3. 3.Service Occupations823
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations662
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations475

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.59×)174
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.64×)404
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.44×)601
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.17×)537
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.11×)1,087

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$110,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$666/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

79.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999389 (12.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999336 (10.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999280 (8.8%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999257 (8.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999254 (8.0%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999247 (7.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

83.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

52.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$30,781

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

34.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,955 (73.7%)
  • Carpooled476 (11.9%)
  • Worked At Home390 (9.7%)
  • Walked125 (3.1%)
  • Taxi24 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit15 (0.4%)

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.