Dent County, Missouri Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Dent 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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C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 84% of counties in Missouri
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D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 71% of counties in Missouri
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F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 14,539 | 6,186,340 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 19.3 | 88.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.84% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 42.6 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 5,618 | 2,507,647 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Dent County declined by 3.3% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14,539 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Dent County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 22.2% of residents. That is 2.5 points above Missouri as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 2,609 17.9% -3.2 pts
- Millennials 29–44 2,566 17.7% -3.6 pts
- Gen X 45–60 3,223 22.2% +2.5 pts
- Boomers 61–79 3,120 21.5% +3.5 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 49.9% of the people living in Dent County and men 50.1%.
- Women 49.9% Missouri 50.7%
- Men 50.1% Missouri 49.3%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Dent County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Dent County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,555 | $70,801 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.99% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Dent County is about 22% lower than in Missouri.
Housing
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $165,878 | $145,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $660 | $1,033 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 75.9% | 68.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Dent County is about 20.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $660 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Dent County spend about 33 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 138 hours, about 5.8 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.6 | 21.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 33.1 | 41.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 138 | 175 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,282 | $5,415 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | — | 7,545 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 459 | 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 Dent County is 17 minutes, shorter 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
Dent County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 15.8% | 28.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.55 | 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
Dent County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Dent County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 75.4 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 22.4% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 25.8% | 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).
Dent County, MO Compared With Nearby Counties
Dent County, MO is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 14,539 residents against a local median of 25,161. Dent County, MO's median home price, at $165,878, runs 60% above the $103,409 typical of the counties around it.
Commute tells the same story from another angle: 16.6 min against a local median of 20.2 min, 18% below it. The one measure here that carries a verdict is commute, and at 18% below the local median it puts Dent County, MO at the better end of the local range. The counties themselves spread $157,242 on median home price, so Dent County, MO sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Dent County, MO has the 2nd highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dent County, MO | 14,539 | $55,555 #3/4 | $165,878 #2/4 | 16.6 min #2/4 |
| Phelps County, MO | 45,194 | $58,562 | $103,409 | 15.5 min |
| Crawford County, MO | 22,797 | $58,081 | $47,758 | 21.3 min |
| Texas County, MO | 25,161 | $50,042 | $205,000 | 20.2 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Dent County, Missouri.
How many people live in Dent County, Missouri?
About 14,539 people live in Dent County, Missouri, in 5,618 households of 2.6 people on average. The median age is 42.6, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.
Is Dent County, Missouri mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Dent County, Missouri has 19 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 22% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Dent County, Missouri an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 3.0 times the median household income ($165,878 against $55,555), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $660 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in Dent County, Missouri?
15.8% of adults in Dent County, Missouri hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 6), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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