Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2007, Daviess County's population decreased by 53, going from 8,016 in 2000 to 7,963 in 2007. This was a change of -0.7 percent, compared to 5.1 percent for the state.
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Daviess County had 248 more births than deaths between 2000 and 2007. Net migration is the difference between the number of people who moved into an area and the number of people who moved out. A negative net migration means a net loss of persons due to migration (more out-movers than in-movers), while a positive value represents a net gain. Between 2000 and 2007, Daviess County had an estimated net migration of -301.
Age. In 2007, an estimated 15.3 percent of Daviess County residents were 65 and older compared to 13.3 percent statewide. At the same time, the Census Bureau estimated that young people (under 18) made up 25.4 percent of the county's population, compared to 24.1 percent for the state.
Racial Diversity. The 2007 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 98.7 percent of the population in the county was White (7,970 persons), while the estimated Black population was 6 (0.1%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 23 Asians (0.3%) and 33 American Indians (0.4%). (These are all "race alone" figures.) Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau/OMB, but rather a separate ethnic category. In 2006, an estimated 89 Hispanic persons (1.1%) were living in the county.
Place of Residence. Sub-county estimates for 2007 indicate that none of the county's population lived in places of 2,500 or more. Those living in smaller places accounted for 41.4 percent of the county's population, while 58.6 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the 2006 Census Bureau's estimates, there were 3,984 housing units in Daviess County. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 76.8 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. In 2000, the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $56,700 compared with a statewide figure of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 3,184 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 71.4 percent of households (2,273). About 25.2 percent of households were married couples with children under 18, which was more than for the state overall (23.3%). Single parent families accounted for 5.9 percent of all Daviess County households, compared to 9.1 percent in Missouri.
Families and Children. Median family income for Daviess County was $35,585 in 1999, compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
Jobs by Sector. The May 2008 unemployment rate (per BLS, preliminary and not seasonally adjusted) was 5.0 percent, compared with 5.7 percent statewide. According to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates, in 2006 there were 4,296 jobs in Daviess County. Farm employment accounted for more than 24.8 percent of the total jobs (1,067). Manufacturing (473), Construction (452) and Local government (439) were the next largest industries for this county.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 1029 farms in the county with total sales of $44.663 million and production expenses of $46.713 million. In Daviess County, $-2.050 million in net farm income was reported with 7.9 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 61.8 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. BEA estimates indicate that Daviess County generated over $181.949 million dollars of total personal income in 2006. Per capita income was $22,566, compared with $32,789 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Daviess County, 48.6 percent of workers commuted outside their home county to work in 2000. Statewide, 25.2 percent of workers traveled between 30 and 60 minutes to work, while in Daviess County 20.6 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 14.3 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work, compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In 2000, about 12.0 percent of Daviess County residents aged 25 years and over (623) were college graduates, compared to 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 1,293 had some college education (24.8%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians over the age of 25.
In 2006, the high school graduation rate in Daviess County (86.6%) was higher than the statewide rate (85.8%), as reported by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Disabilities. In 2000, 712 persons age 65 and older in Daviess County reported having a disability (52.4%). The corresponding Missouri rate was 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (16 to 64) of Daviess County, 443 reported some work disability, which was 9.5 percent of all persons in that age cohort, compared to a statewide figure of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 22.2 percent of Daviess County residents reported their health was “fair or poor” compared with 16.9 percent statewide. While 12.3 percent of Missourians reported having no health coverage, the percent without coverage in Daviess County was estimated at 20.1 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were Current Smoker (31.3%) and Overweight (BMI 25-29.9) (30.4%). Missouri reported 26.5 percent and 35.3 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The age-adjusted cause-of-mortality rates (per 100,000) significantly higher than the state for Daviess County were Heart Disease (341) and Stroke/ Other Cerebrovascular Disease (91.3). The corresponding Missouri rates were 298 and 64.5, respectively.
Note(s):