New census data gives snapshot of life in Ozark County in 2020
This photo of Gainesville is believed to have been taken sometime before 1900, possibly during the 1890s, when Ozark County reached its population peak of 12,145, according to census figures. In the photo, the two-story building on the upper-middle-right side of the image is the former Gainesville School, and the large, two-story white building in the right-corner foreground is the courthouse, standing opposite the row of businesses and the two-story hotel on the west side of the Gainesville square. The two-story home on the left side of the picture, then known as the Ford house, still stands on Third Street. The photo is from the collection of the late Ruby Robins, now preserved in the Ozark County Historium. Robins credited the photo to “Hogard.”
The results of the 2020 census have been released and provide a fascinating look at what has changed in Ozark County over the last decade.
Population decreased 12 percent
Ozark County’s population decreased 12 percent over the last decade, according to the most recent census results. The census counted 8,553 residents in Ozark County in April 2020 compared with 9,723 residents in Ozark County in 2010.
Residents may be surprised to know that the census data shows that Ozark County was actually most populated from 1890 to 1900, when 12,145 residents lived here, an interesting fact considering the U.S. population at the time was just 23 percent of what it is today (pop. 76,212,168 in 1900 and 331,449,281 in 2020).
In the last century, the lowest population in Ozark County was recorded in 1970 when 6,226 residents lived here. The U.S. population at that time was 203,392,031.
Census data shows the following population counts for Ozark County since the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting data: population of 2,294 in 1850; 2,447 in 1860; 3,363 in 1870; 5,618 in 1880; 9,795 in 1890; 12,145 in 1900; 11,926 in 1910; 11,125 in 1920; 9,537 in 1930; 10,766 in 1940; 8,856 in 1950; 6,744 in 1960; 6,226 in 1970; 7,961 in 1980; 8,598 in 1990; 9,542 in 2000; 9,723 in 2010; and 8,553 in 2020.
The census found that the U.S. population grew about 6.8 percent from its count of 308,745,538 in April 2010 to its count of 331,449,281 in April 2020.
Rural, with few people per mile
It’s likely not surprising to Ozark Countians that there are far fewer people per square mile here compared with national averages, and to many local residents, that’s a welcome attribute of living here. The data shows that the county consists of 744.97 square miles of land with a population per square mile of just 13.1 people. The national average is more than six times greater: 87.4 residents per square mile.
More older residents here than children
The most recently recorded information about the demographics of Ozark County show that the majority of the population, 46.9 percent, is between the ages of 18 and 64. Residents age 65 and older account for 29.3 percent of the population, and children and teens account for 23.8 percent (4.6 percent under age 5 and 19.2 percent age 5-17).
Nationally, 55.2 percent of the population is 18-64; 28.3 percent is 17 and younger (6 percent under age 5 and 22.3 percent age 5-17), and 16.5 percent age 65 and older.
As far as the sex of residents in Ozark County, the population is nearly evenly split, with 49.8 percent female and 50.2 percent male. Nationally, the U.S. has a population is 50.8 percent female and 49.2 percent male.
Ozark County is predominantly white, and residents here mostly speak English at home
When considering race and ethnicity, Ozark County’s population is 96.4 percent White, 2 percent Hispanic or Latino, 2 percent classified as “two or more races,” 1.1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2 percent Black or African American, and 0.2 percent Asian. The 2020 census reported no residents here who are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
Only 1.6 percent of Ozark County’s population has a language other than English that is spoken at home, compared with 21.6 percent of U.S. residents.
The U.S. population has the following race statistics: 76.3 percent White, 18.5 percent Hispanic or Latino; 13.4 percent Black or African American; 5.9 percent Asian; 0.2 percent are Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and 1.3 percent are American Indian or Alaska Native.
Ozark County has a high veteran population
Nine percent of Ozark County’s population, 797 residents, are veterans; the percentage is almost double that of the national population, in which 18,230,322 veterans make up 5 percent of the total.
A high percentage of Ozark Countians own their own home, stay living in the same house
A higher percentage of Ozark County residents live in a home that they own when compared with national statistics. There are 5,703 houses in Ozark County, according to the data, with 77.6 percent of those occupied by their owners. In the U.S., 64 percent of citizens live in a home that they own, the census shows.
The data shows that there are between two and three (2.3) people on average per household in Ozark County, about the same as the national average.
The vast majority, 90.4 percent, of Ozark Countians are living in the same home they were living in a year earlier. National data shows 85.5 percent of U.S. residents are living in the same home they were living in a year earlier.
Mortgage and rent are cheap compared with national figures; home values are also lower
The median value of owner-occupied homes in Ozark County was $97,600, about 55 percent less than the national median home value of $217,500.
The median value of residents’ combined mortgage and other monthly owner costs (property taxes and insurance, utilities and fuel including oil, coal, kerosene and wood), is $815 per month. That number is broken down with the median average monthly mortgage payment of $525 and $290 in the other home-related costs.
Nationally, the median monthly costs of residents’ mortgage and other fees is $1,595, a total of $780 more than the average mortgage and fees Ozark Countians are paying per month.
The median gross rent payment for an Ozark County resident is $660 a month, compared with $1,062 per month nationally.
Fewer computers and fewer homes with internet, compared with national data
Just over 77 percent of Ozark County residents have a computer at home (nationally, it’s 90.3 percent), and 67.6 percent have a broadband internet subscription here (nationally, it’s 82.7 percent).
Slightly lower percentage of high school graduates, one-third the number of bachelor-degree-holding citizens
There are 82.3 percent of residents here age 25 or older who have obtained their high school diploma (compared with 88 percent nationally), and 11 percent of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared with 32.1 percent nationally).
Nearly double the percentage of disabled residents, and almost 20 percent without health insurance
Ozark County has a higher percentage of disabled residents compared with U.S. statistics.
The census data shows that 17.2 percent of Ozark County’s residents are considered disabled, whereas only 8.6 percent of the national population has the same designation.
Ozark County residents who have no health insurance comprise 19.4 percent of the total.
About 40 percent employed, more men working than women
Ozark County’s workforce consists of about 42.7 percent of the population, meaning 57.3 percent of residents are not currently part of the civilian workforce. Nationally, about 63 percent of the U.S. population is employed as part of the civilian workforce.
Of the number of Ozark County residents employed in the workforce, 40.2 percent are women and 57.7 percent are men. Nationally, the workforce consists of 58.3 percent female workers and 41.7 percent male.
The average number of miles that an Ozark County resident travels, one way, to work is 31.7 miles. The U.S. average is 26.9 miles.
Median household income here recorded at just under $32,000
The median household income (in 2019 dollars) for Ozark County was $31,947, about half that of the national median household income of $62,843.
The per capita income in the past 12 months (in 2019 dollars) is $18,739, compared with $34,103 nationally.
About 22.7 percent of Ozark County residents are “in poverty,” according to the data.
About 850 workers employed inside the county at 161 businesses
The total number of employer establishments counted in Ozark County in 2019 was 161, and employed workers here totaled 853. The annual payroll for all Ozark County businesses that year was $21,105,000.
In 2018, in Ozark County, there were 796 total “non-employer establishments,” meaning a business that has no paid employees but has annual recipients of $1,000 or more and is subject to federal income taxes. “Non-employer businesses are generally small, such as real estate agents and independent contractors,” the census website clarifies.
In 2012, there were 718 business or, as the census refers to them, “firms,” defined as a business organization consisting of one or more domestic establishments in the same geographic area and industry that were specified under common ownership or control.
Of those 718 businesses, 52.8 percent were owned by men and 47.2 percent were owned by women. Veterans owned 63 of those Ozark County businesses, the data shows.