County profile

Lafayette County

Missouri · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
33,115
Median household income
$80,612
People below poverty
9.3%
Median home value
$216,500

Income

The median income of households in Lafayette County, Missouri was $80,612. An estimated 3.8% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 7.6% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.8
$10,000 to $14,999 2.7
$15,000 to $24,999 5.6
$25,000 to $34,999 7.2
$35,000 to $49,999 10.9
$50,000 to $74,999 16.9
$75,000 to $99,999 13.3
$100,000 to $149,999 23.8
$150,000 to $199,999 8.2
$200,000 or more 7.6

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 61968
Female 47951

An estimated 72.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 36.5% of households received Social Security and an estimated 31.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,965. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 72.9
Social Security 36.5
Retirement income 31.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.7
Cash public assistance income 0.7

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 9.3 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 12.2% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 9.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 9.3
Children under 18 years below poverty 12.2
People 65 years old and over below poverty 9.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8.1

In 2020-2024, 9.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 45.2% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 36.8% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 39.5% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024, 91.8% had health insurance coverage and 8.2% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 69.6% and public coverage was 35.7%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 7.7%.


In 2020-2024, Lafayette County, Missouri had a total population of 33,115 - 16,519 (49.9%) females and 16,596 (50.1%) males. The median age was 40.9 years. An estimated 23% of the population was under 18 years, 29.6% was 19 to 44 years, 25.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.3 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 946 834
5 to 9 1023 777
10 to 14 1306 1287
15 to 19 1053 1099
20 to 24 792 791
25 to 29 1110 1050
30 to 34 907 1010
35 to 39 1157 1041
40 to 44 971 976
45 to 49 901 908
50 to 54 1074 1036
55 to 59 1299 1406
60 to 64 1030 938
65 to 69 972 1084
70 to 74 863 762
75 to 79 563 605
80 to 84 331 538
85 and over 298 377

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 90.8% were White; 1.6% were Black or African American; 13.4% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.4% were Asian; 0.7% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.5% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 3.5% of the people in Lafayette County, Missouri were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 89.7% of the people in Lafayette County, Missouri were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 12,576 households in Lafayette County, Missouri. The average household size was 2.58 people.

Married-couple households made up 56% of the households in Lafayette County, Missouri while cohabiting couple households made up 6.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 20.7% of all households, while 16.5% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 12.7% of households were male householders living alone, and 13.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 26% of all households.

In Lafayette County, Missouri, 28.4% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.7% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 56
Cohabiting Couples 6.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
16.5
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
20.7

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 54% of males and 52.4% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 30.9 24.5
Now married, except separated 54 52.4
Separated 0.8 2.8
Widowed 3.1 8.4
Divorced 11.2 11.8

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Lafayette County, Missouri, 640 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 41.7% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 97.7% of the people living in Lafayette County, Missouri were U.S. natives. 77.7% of the Lafayette County, Missouri population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 2.3% of Lafayette County, Missouri residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 56.3% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 70.8 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Lafayette County, Missouri come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Lafayette County, Missouri.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 52.1
Asia 16.8
Europe 19
Africa 0
Northern America 11.8
Oceania 0.3

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024, 3.6 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 2.3% of people at least five years old; 0.9% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 2.3
Other Indo-European languages 1
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.2
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 84.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Lafayette County, Missouri were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 84.9
Different house, same county 6.4
Different county, same state 6.6
Different state 1.6
Abroad 0.5

Education

In 2020-2024, 91.6 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 26.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 8.4% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Lafayette County, Missouri was 7,146 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 353 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 5,632. College or graduate school enrollment was 1,161.

Educational Attainment of People in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 8.4
High school diploma or equivalency 35.4
Some college, no degree 22
Associate's degree 8
Bachelor's degree 17.1
Graduate or professional degree 9.2

Disability

In Lafayette County, Missouri, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 17.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.8% of people under 18 years old, to 15.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 38.9% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Lafayette County, Missouri, 60.8 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 37.2% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 79.6% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.8 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 12,903 79.6
Federal, state, or local government workers 2,331 14.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 933 5.8

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Lafayette County, Missouri worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 2.1
Construction 8.9
Manufacturing 12
Wholesale trade 2.1
Retail trade 11
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7.4
Information 1.1
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 6.5
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 8.4
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 23.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5.6
Other Services, except public administration 4.8
Public administration 6.5

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 6,153 38
Service occupations 2,269 14
Sales and office occupations 3,090 19.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,045 12.6
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 2,644 16.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.4% of Lafayette County, Missouri workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8.7% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 24.9 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.4
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8.7
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0
Walked 1.6
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 9

In 2020-2024, Lafayette County, Missouri had a total of 14,221 housing units. Of these housing units, 83% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 11% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 5.7% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 83
Apartments in multi-unit structures 11
Mobile homes 5.7
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.3

6.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 14.3% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Lafayette County, Missouri was 6.1 rooms, and of these housing units 70% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Lafayette County, Missouri had 12,576 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,645 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 75.7% while renters occupied 24.3%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.69 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.24.

3.2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 10.2% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3.3% and another 32.6% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Lafayette County, Missouri:

House Heating Fuel Used in Lafayette County, Missouri in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 67.1
Electricity 30.3
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 1.8
No fuel used 0.7

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Lafayette County, Missouri was $216,500.

Of the owner-occupied households, 54.7 % had a mortgage. 45.3% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,371 and for owners without a mortgage it was $564.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Lafayette County, Missouri was $928. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.