Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Dent County's population increased by 349, going from 14,927 to 15,276 in 2006. This was a change of 2.3 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Dent County had 98 more deaths than births 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, Dent County had a net migration of 447.
Age. In 2006, Dent County reported 17.7 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 22.5 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 96.9 percent of the population in the county was White (14,806 persons), while the estimated black population was 57 (0.4%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 46 Asians (0.3%) and 147 American Indians (1.0%). Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau, but rather a separate category. In 2006 there were an estimated 141 hispanic persons (0.9%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 31.9 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Dent County. Those living in smaller places account for 1.2 percent of the county's population and 66.9 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 7,210 housing units in Dent 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 $61,000 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 6,017 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 71.7 percent of households (4,314). About 24.7 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 Dent County (6.5%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Dent County was $33,061 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Dent County was 18.8 percent which was higher than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (29.2%) was higher than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Dent County indicators on children were ranked 78 out of 114 counties and St. Louis City in the state in 2006. Kids Count indicators show that low birth weight infants decreased to 7.4 percent and births to teenage mothers were 51.3 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 39.0 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 7.4 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 7,023 jobs in Dent County in 2006. Retail Trade accounts for more than 13.3 percent of the total jobs (937). Farm employment (851), Local government (763) and Other services, except public administration (576) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 693 farms in the county with total sales of about $10.216 million and production expenses of $13.845 million. There was $-3.629 million in net farm income reported in the county with 2.0 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 64.4 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Dent County generated over $336.416 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $22,288 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Dent County, 27.4 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 Dent County 21.0 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 8.1 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Dent County, about 10.1 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (1,023) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 2,053 residents 25 and over in Dent County had some college education (20.3%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Dent County (84.6%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was less than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 1,600 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (63.7%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Dent County 1,411 reported some work disability, a rate of 15.7 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 23.5 percent of Dent 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 Dent County was estimated to be 16.7 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were Current Smoker(27.1%) and High Blood Pressure(31.2%). Missouri reported 26.5 percent and 28.9 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Dent County are Heart Disease (326) and Stroke/ Other Cerebrovascular Disease (79.7). Missouri's rates were 298 and at 64.5 respectively.
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