Lafayette County, MO

County

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2024 Population

33,115

US Senator

Josh Hawley

Republican Party

US Senator

Eric Schmitt

Republican Party

2024 Poverty Rate

9.29%

4.5% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$80,612

1.92% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$216,500

8.09% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

16,201

1.34% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Lafayette County, MO reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

99% of the residents in Lafayette County, MO are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Lafayette County, MO are Lex La-Ray Technical Center (21 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2024, the median property value in Lafayette County, MO was $216,500, and the homeownership rate was 75.7%.

Most people in Lafayette County, MO drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 24.9 minutes. The average car ownership in Lafayette County, MO was 2 cars per household.

Lafayette County, MO borders Carroll County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Johnson County, MO, Pettis County, MO, Ray County, MO, and Saline County, MO.

United States Missouri Kansas City, MO-KS

Population & Diversity

Lafayette County, MO is home to a population of 33.1k people, from which 99% are citizens. As of 2024, 2.25% of Lafayette County, MO residents were born outside of the country (746 people).

In 2024, there were 28.7 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (29.7k people) in Lafayette County, MO than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.03k Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 514 Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99%

2024 Citizenship

98.8%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99% of Lafayette County, MO residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Lafayette County, MO was 98.8%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Lafayette County, MO compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Lafayette County, MO

White (Non-Hispanic)
29.7k ± 197
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
1.03k ± 176
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
514 ± 145

3.49%

Hispanic Population

1.16k people

3.49% of the people in Lafayette County, MO are hispanic (1.16k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Lafayette County, MO as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Missouri.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
41,951 ± 5,011 people
India
23,410 ± 3,749 people
China
17,257 ± 3,221 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Missouri was Mexico, the natal country of 41,951 Missouri residents, followed by India with 23,410 and China with 17,257.

Foreign-Born Population

2.25%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

746 people

2.54%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

836 people

As of 2024, 2.25% of Lafayette County, MO residents (746 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Lafayette County, MO was 2.54%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Lafayette County, MO compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
677 ± 187
Gulf War (2001-)
581 ± 193
Gulf War (1990s)
383 ± 138

Lafayette County, MO has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.17 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Lafayette County, MO.

Economy

The economy of Lafayette County, MO employs 16.2k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Lafayette County, MO were Health Care & Social Assistance (2,687 people), Manufacturing (1,951 people), and Retail Trade (1,786 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($68,370), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($64,847), and Transportation & Warehousing ($64,286).

Employment

Occupations

16.2k

2024 Value

± 996

1.34%

1 Year growth

± 8.51%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lafayette County, MO grew at a rate of 1.34%, from 16k employees to 16.2k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Lafayette County, MO, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (1,785 people), Production Occupations (1,459 people), and Management Occupations (1,398 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Lafayette County, MO.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Missouri (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

16.2k

2024 Value

± 996

1.34%

1 Year growth

± 8.51%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Lafayette County, MO grew at a rate of 1.34%, from 16k employees to 16.2k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Lafayette County, MO, are Health Care & Social Assistance (2,687 people), Manufacturing (1,951 people), and Retail Trade (1,786 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Lafayette County, MO, though some of these residents may live in Lafayette County, MO and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$52,641

Median earning men ± $3,289

$39,823

Median earning women ± $2,395

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($72,202), Wholesale Trade ($69,097), and Other Services Except Public Administration ($65,429).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($67,826), Wholesale Trade ($57,888), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($51,367).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.

Y-Axis

2.17%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 2.94M people employed in Missouri. This represents a 2.17% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 11.8%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Missouri.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

79
Construction
76
Other Services (except Public Administration)
46
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$62.3k
Manufacturing
$48.5k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$28.6k
Construction

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Missouri went to Donald J. Trump with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.1%), followed by Chase Oliver (0.797%).

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt are the senators currently representing the state of Missouri. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Missouri is currently represented by 8 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Lafayette County, MO. Showing the available data for Missouri.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (58.5%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (40.1%)
Democratic Party
Chase Oliver (0.797%)
Libertarian Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Missouri went to Donald J. Trump with 58.5% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (40.1%), followed by Chase Oliver (0.797%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Missouri for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Missouri

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Missouri.

Josh Hawley

Senator from Missouri

Assumed office on January 3, 2019

Eric Schmitt

Senator from Missouri

Assumed office on January 3, 2023

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt are the senators currently representing Missouri.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Missouri over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Lafayette County, MO awarded 21 degrees. The student population of Lafayette County, MO in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 1 male students and 21 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Lafayette County, MO are White (18 and 85.7%) and Black or African American (3 and 14.3%).

The largest universities in Lafayette County, MO by number of degrees awarded are Lex La-Ray Technical Center (21 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Lafayette County, MO are Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training (20 and 95.2%), Autobody & Collision Repair Technology (1 and 4.76%), and Automobile Mechanics Technology (0 and 0%).

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

Measure

In 2023 in Lafayette County, MO, the percentage of applicants admitted was 75%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 100%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 22 (4.55% men and 95.5% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2023 there were 22 students enrolled in Lafayette County, MO, 4.55% men and 95.5% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 18 records, of which 94.4% were women and 5.56% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training
20 degrees awarded
Autobody & Collision Repair Technology
1 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate recipients in Lafayette County, MO was Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training with 20 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate from schools in Lafayette County, MO according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Lex La-Ray Technical Center

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

21 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Lex La-Ray Technical Center with 21 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2023, 3 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Lafayette County, MO, which is 0.167 times less than the 18 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 18 degrees mean that there were 6 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 3 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Lafayette County, MO was $216,500 in 2024, which is 0.651 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $200,300 to $216,500, a 8.09% increase. The homeownership rate in Lafayette County, MO is 75.7%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Lafayette County, MO have an average commute time of 24.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Lafayette County, MO is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 8.77% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lafayette County, MO. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.13%.

Housing

Property

$216,500

Median Property Value 2024

±$12,051

$9,526

Median Property Taxes

±$742

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Lafayette County, MO the largest share of households pay taxes in the $800 - $1,499 range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Lafayette County, MO compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

75.7%

Homeownership

2024

65.8%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 75.7% of the housing units in Lafayette County, MO were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 76.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Lafayette County, MO compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$80,612

Median Household Income

± $6,979

12.6k

Number of Households

± 829

In 2024, the median household income of the 12.6k households in Lafayette County, MO grew to $80,612 from the previous year's value of $79,091.

The following chart displays the households in Lafayette County, MO distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Lafayette County, MO is from Missouri.

0.451

2023 Wage GINI in Missouri

0.455

2022 Wage GINI in Missouri

In 2023, the income inequality in Missouri was 0.451 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.848% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Missouri was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Missouri in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Missouri across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (79.4%)
Worked At Home (9.03%)
Carpooled (8.74%)

In 2024, 79.4% of workers in Lafayette County, MO drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.03%) and those who carpooled to work (8.74%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

24.9 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Lafayette County, MO have a shorter commute time (24.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.03% of the workforce in Lafayette County, MO have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Lafayette County, MO compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Lafayette County, MO distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Lafayette County, MO have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 8.77% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Lafayette County, MO. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.13%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

9.29% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Lafayette County, MO (3.03k out of 32.6k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Lafayette County, MO is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 13.8% of the children was living in poverty in Lafayette County, MO. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 7.2%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 112 in Lafayette County, MO. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 15 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

91.8% of the population of Lafayette County, MO has health coverage, with 50.3% on employee plans, 13.2% on Medicaid, 15.9% on Medicare, 9.83% on non-group plans, and 2.7% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Lafayette County, MO see 4,102 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (4,102 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 2996 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 638 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50% were men and 50% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

4,102 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Lafayette County, MO

Primary care physicians in Lafayette County, MO see an average of 4,102 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (4,102 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Lafayette County, MO in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 24.1% under 18 years, 18.4% between 18 and 34 years, 38.7% between 35 and 64 years, and 18.8% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 50% were men and 50% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

8.18%

Uninsured

50.3%

Employer Coverage

13.2%

Medicaid

15.9%

Medicare

9.83%

Non-Group

2.7%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Lafayette County, MO declined by 9.37% from 9.03% to 8.18%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Lafayette County, MO changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 72.5 in Lafayette County, MO.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lafayette County, MO.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 38.9% in Lafayette County, MO.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Lafayette County, MO.