Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Cass County's population increased by 13,689, going from 82,092 to 95,781 in 2006. This was a change of 16.7 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Cass County had 2,972 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, Cass County had a net migration of 10,717.
Age. In 2006, Cass County reported 11.5 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 25.2 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 94.4 percent of the population in the county was White (90,373 persons), while the estimated black population was 2,870 (3.0%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 621 Asians (0.6%) and 541 American Indians (0.6%). Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau, but rather a separate category. In 2006 there were an estimated 2,937 hispanic persons (3.1%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 64.3 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Cass County. Those living in smaller places account for 9.7 percent of the county's population and 25.9 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 37,912 housing units in Cass County in 2006. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 79.6 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $104,200 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 30,236 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 76.4 percent of households (23,096). About 30.5 percent of households were married couples with children under 18, which was more than for the state overall (23.3 percent). Single parent families in Cass County (8.1%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Cass County was $55,258 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Cass County was 8.7 percent which was lower than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (12.5%) was lower than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Cass County indicators on children were ranked 6 out of 114 counties and St. Louis City in the state in 2006. Kids Count indicators show that low birth weight infants decreased to 6.3 percent and births to teenage mothers were 34.8 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 23.3 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 5.1 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 37,222 jobs in Cass County in 2006. Retail Trade accounts for more than 15.0 percent of the total jobs (5,589). Construction (4,687), Local government (3,987) and Health care and social assistance (2,854) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 1635 farms in the county with total sales of about $48.416 million and production expenses of $43.537 million. There was $4.879 million in net farm income reported in the county with 4.7 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 67.6 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Cass County generated over $2,712.389 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $28,932 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Cass County, 64.1 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 Cass County 40.3 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 7.2 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Cass County, about 17.7 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (9,334) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 16,525 residents 25 and over in Cass County had some college education (31.3%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Cass County (90.7%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was higher than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 4,508 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (50.7%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Cass County 4,879 reported some work disability, a rate of 9.5 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 14.8 percent of Cass 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 Cass County was estimated to be 7.6 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were Current Smoker(18.5%) and High Blood Pressure(28%). Missouri reported 26.5 percent and 28.5 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Cass County are Stroke/ Other Cerebrovascular Disease (73.1) and Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease (56.8). Missouri's rates were 64.5 and at 46.0 respectively.
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