county

Wayne County, MO

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

AI Overview

Wayne County, MO is a small, rural county of 10,942 residents with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $19,172 and median worker earnings of $29,067—well below state and national norms. The labor force is notably constrained, with only 45.6% participation, 11.0% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 7.7%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $113,100 and median gross rent of $632/month—though the county has shed 17.8% of its population over five years and carries a 25.1% poverty rate.

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

Population

10,942

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$47,226

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

48.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-17.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,151 (93.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races356 (3.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race163 (1.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone116 (1.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone46 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone30 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)51
  2. 2.Spanish34
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic7
  4. 4.Vietnamese3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

805

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$19,172

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,091

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

25.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,169
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)518
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)463
  4. 4.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities331
  5. 5.Construction (Group)251

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,090
  2. 2.Service Occupations750
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations735
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations674
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations664

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.51×)213
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.38×)363
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.33×)503
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.32×)295
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.23×)221

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$113,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$632/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999355 (10.2%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999351 (10.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999339 (9.8%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999338 (9.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999240 (6.9%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999205 (5.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

80.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

45.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$29,067

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,921 (75.4%)
  • Carpooled631 (16.3%)
  • Worked At Home198 (5.1%)
  • Other71 (1.8%)
  • Public Transit33 (0.9%)
  • Motorcycle11 (0.3%)

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.