Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Miller County's population increased by 1,425, going from 23,564 to 24,989 in 2006. This was a change of 6.0 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Miller County had 336 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, Miller County had a net migration of 1,089.
Age. In 2006, Miller County reported 15.2 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 23.6 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 97.8 percent of the population in the county was White (24,451 persons), while the estimated black population was 124 (0.5%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 60 Asians (0.2%) and 132 American Indians (0.5%). Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau, but rather a separate category. In 2006 there were an estimated 301 hispanic persons (1.2%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 19.9 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Miller County. Those living in smaller places account for 15.1 percent of the county's population and 64.9 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 12,010 housing units in Miller County in 2006. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 75.0 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $69,900 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 9,288 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 69.4 percent of households (6,450). 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 Miller County (8.6%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Miller County was $36,770 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Miller County was 15.4 percent which was higher than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (24.8%) was higher than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Miller County indicators on children were ranked 69 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 82.6 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 50.2 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 4.8 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 11,535 jobs in Miller County in 2006. Construction accounts for more than 13.0 percent of the total jobs (1,502). Retail Trade (1,453), Farm employment (1,215) and Manufacturing (1,180) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 1111 farms in the county with total sales of about $71.944 million and production expenses of $61.980 million. There was $9.964 million in net farm income reported in the county with 8.7 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 60.8 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Miller County generated over $538.079 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $21,758 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Miller County, 42.6 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 Miller County 30.3 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 6.0 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Miller County, about 11.4 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (1,748) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 3,426 residents 25 and over in Miller County had some college education (22.3%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Miller County (91.1%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was higher than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 1,963 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (56.7%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Miller County 1,816 reported some work disability, a rate of 12.7 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 16.5 percent of Miller 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 Miller County was estimated to be 22.6 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were Current Smoker(33.3%) and Obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30)(26.5%). Missouri reported 26.5 percent and 23.4 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Miller County are Heart Disease (325) and Stroke/ Other Cerebrovascular Disease (76.6). Missouri's rates were 298 and at 64.5 respectively.
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