Cooper County, Missouri Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Cooper County, MO Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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B
Health Around averageHealthier than 77% of counties in Missouri
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below averageBetter educated than 75% of counties in Missouri
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 16,823 | 6,186,340 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 29.6 | 88.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.57% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 40.7 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 6,239 | 2,507,647 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Cooper County declined by 3.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16,823 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Cooper County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.6% of residents. That is 0.4 points above Missouri as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 3,637 21.6% +0.4 pts
- Millennials 29–44 3,255 19.3% -1.9 pts
- Gen X 45–60 3,338 19.8% +0.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 3,266 19.4% +1.5 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Missouri, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 48.6% of the people living in Cooper County and men 51.4%.
- Women 48.6% Missouri 50.7%
- Men 51.4% Missouri 49.3%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Cooper County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Cooper County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $70,419 | $70,801 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.85% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.3% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Cooper County is about 1% lower than in Missouri.
Housing
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $115,104 | $145,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $781 | $1,033 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 75.7% | 68.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Cooper County is about 12.3 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $781 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Cooper County spend about 45 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 189 hours, about 7.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 22.6 | 21.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 45.3 | 41.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 189 | 175 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,845 | $5,415 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 6.4% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,034 | 7,545 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 448 | 923 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Missouri:
Saline County (11.9 min), Adair County (12.0 min), Nodaway County (12.1 min).
Slowest:
Bollinger County (33.1 min), Ray County (32.2 min), Maries County (31.9 min).
The average commute time in Cooper County is 23 minutes, longer than the 21 minutes in Missouri.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Cooper County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 21.5% | 28.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.49 | 2.40 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Missouri:
St. Louis County (0.4), Platte County (0.4), Boone County (0.4).
Lowest:
Bollinger County (0.2), Wayne County (0.2), Ripley County (0.2).
Health
Cooper County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Cooper County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.8 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 16.2% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 20.7% | 22.8% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Missouri:
St. Charles County (0.8), Platte County (0.8), Boone County (0.8).
Lowest:
Scotland County (0.7), Ripley County (0.7), Pemiscot County (0.8).
Cooper County, MO Compared With Nearby Counties
Cooper County, MO is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 16,823 residents against a local median of 23,231. Where Cooper County, MO breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 44% above the local median of 15.8 min at 22.6 min. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $115,104 against a local median of $144,791, 21% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: median household income runs ahead of the neighbourhood while commute runs behind it, so Cooper County, MO is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread 14.5 min on commute, so Cooper County, MO sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Cooper County, MO has the 3rd lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper County, MO | 16,823 | $70,419 #1/4 | $115,104 #3/4 | 22.6 min #3/4 |
| Morgan County, MO | 21,717 | $53,120 | $65,000 | 26.5 min |
| Pettis County, MO | 43,397 | $60,475 | $144,791 | 15.8 min |
| Saline County, MO | 23,231 | $58,602 | $290,384 | 11.9 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cooper County, Missouri.
What is the population of Cooper County, Missouri?
About 16,823 people live in Cooper County, Missouri, in 6,239 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 40.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 3 years.
Is Cooper County, Missouri mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Cooper County, Missouri has 30 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 34% of the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Cooper County, Missouri?
The median home costs 1.6 times the median household income ($115,104 against $70,419), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $781 a month takes about 13% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Cooper County, Missouri?
21.5% of adults in Cooper County, Missouri hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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