Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Audrain County's population decreased by 114, going from 25,853 in 2000 to 25,739 in 2006. This was a change of -0.4 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Audrain County had 567 more births than deaths between 2000 and 2006. Net migration is the difference between the number of people who moved into an area and the number of people who moved out. So a negative net migration means a net loss of persons due to migration, while a positive value represents a net gain. Between 2000 and 2006, Audrain County had a net migration of -681.
Age. In 2006, Audrain County reported 16.3 percent of its residents were 65 and older compared to 13.3 percent statewide. At the same time, the proportion of young people under 18 in the county was 23.8 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 90.5 percent of the population in the county was White (23,287 persons), while the estimated black population was 2,022 (7.9%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 113 Asians (0.4%) and 81 American Indians (0.3%). Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau, but rather a separate category. In 2006 there were an estimated 271 hispanic persons (1.1%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 58.6 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Audrain County. Those living in smaller places account for 6.5 percent of the county's population and 35.0 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 11,092 housing units in Audrain County in 2006. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 74.1 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $62,400 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 9,872 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 69.3 percent of households (6,841). About 23.1 percent of households were married couples with children under 18, which was less than for the state overall (23.3 percent). Single parent families in Audrain County (8.9%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Audrain County was $40,448 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Audrain County was 15.8 percent which was higher than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (23.6%) was higher than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Audrain County indicators on children were ranked 62 out of 114 counties and St. Louis City in the state in 2006. Kids Count indicators show that low birth weight infants decreased to 8.2 percent and births to teenage mothers were 61.6 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 37.2 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 5.7 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 14,798 jobs in Audrain County in 2006. Manufacturing accounts for more than 15.1 percent of the total jobs (2,236). Retail Trade (2,081), Local government (1,913) and Farm employment (1,165) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 1089 farms in the county with total sales of about $89.624 million and production expenses of $69.303 million. There was $20.321 million in net farm income reported in the county with 19.7 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 40.9 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Audrain County generated over $610.468 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $23,785 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Audrain County, 20.1 percent of workers commute outside their home county to work in 2000. Statewide, 33.4 percent of workers traveled between 30 and 60 minutes to work, while in Audrain County 15.0 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 3.8 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Audrain County, about 12.7 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (2,221) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 3,401 residents 25 and over in Audrain County had some college education (19.5%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Audrain County (88.7%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was higher than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 2,249 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (56.2%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Audrain County 1,754 reported some work disability, a rate of 12.2 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 15.8 percent of Audrain County residents report their health was “fair or poor” compared with 16.9 percent statewide. While . percent of Missourians reported having no health coverage, the percent without coverage in Audrain County was estimated to be 9.3 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were High Blood Pressure(28.4%) and High Cholesterol (35 years and older)(40%). Missouri reported 28.5 percent and 37.3 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Audrain County are Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease (65.5) and Injury at Work (5.4). Missouri's rates were 46.0 and at 2.3 respectively.
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