Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Morgan County's population increased by 1,407, going from 19,309 to 20,716 in 2006. This was a change of 7.3 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Morgan County had 128 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, Morgan County had a net migration of 1,535.
Age. In 2006, Morgan County reported 20.2 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 22.0 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 97.6 percent of the population in the county was White (20,215 persons), while the estimated black population was 110 (0.5%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 36 Asians (0.2%) and 128 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 204 hispanic persons (1.0%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 13.0 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Morgan County. Those living in smaller places account for 12.0 percent of the county's population and 75.0 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 14,461 housing units in Morgan County in 2006. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 82.9 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $79,500 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 7,847 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 71.0 percent of households (5,572). About 20.9 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 Morgan County (5.9%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Morgan County was $35,908 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Morgan County was 17.7 percent which was higher than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (31.4%) was higher than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Morgan County indicators on children were ranked 92 out of 114 counties and St. Louis City in the state in 2006. Kids Count indicators show that low birth weight infants decreased to 6.9 percent and births to teenage mothers were 70.1 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 49.8 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 5.9 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 7,315 jobs in Morgan County in 2006. Retail Trade accounts for more than 14.8 percent of the total jobs (1,081). Farm employment (1,028), Local government (944) and Manufacturing (714) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 930 farms in the county with total sales of about $81.493 million and production expenses of $65.868 million. There was $15.625 million in net farm income reported in the county with 15.4 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 48.3 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Morgan County generated over $493.596 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $24,165 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Morgan County, 38.9 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 Morgan County 23.6 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 8.3 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Morgan County, about 10.7 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (1,445) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 3,117 residents 25 and over in Morgan County had some college education (23.1%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Morgan County (91.0%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was higher than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 2,008 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (54.9%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Morgan County 2,076 reported some work disability, a rate of 18.2 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 26.3 percent of Morgan 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 Morgan County was estimated to be 13.8 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were Current Smoker(26.2%) and Asthma(11.7%). Missouri reported 26.5 percent and 10.7 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Morgan County are Pneumonia and Influenza (42.6) and Alzheimer's Disease (18.6). Missouri's rates were 32.5 and at 12.7 respectively.
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