Ozark County, Missouri Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Ozark 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 89% of counties in Missouri
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D
Income Well below average
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F
Education Well below averageLess educated than 88% of counties in Missouri
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 8,873 | 6,186,340 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 11.8 | 88.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.77% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 52.3 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 3,709 | 2,507,647 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Ozark County declined by 5.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8,873 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Ozark County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 28.1% of residents. That is 10.1 points above Missouri as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 1,376 15.5% -5.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 1,329 15.0% -6.3 pts
- Gen X 45–60 2,009 22.6% +3.0 pts
- Boomers 61–79 2,490 28.1% +10.1 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 50.0% of the people living in Ozark County and men 50.0%.
- Women 50.0% Missouri 50.7%
- Men 50.0% Missouri 49.3%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Ozark County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Ozark County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,159 | $70,801 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.47% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.0% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Ozark County is about 38% lower than in Missouri.
Housing
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $96,935 | $145,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $630 | $1,033 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 82.1% | 68.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Ozark County is about 12.8 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $630 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Ozark County spend about 60 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 250 hours, about 10.4 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 30.1 | 21.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 60.1 | 41.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 250 | 175 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,763 | $5,415 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 14.7% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,788 | 7,545 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 215 | 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 Ozark County is 30 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
Ozark County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 9.9% | 28.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.38 | 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
Ozark County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Ozark County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 81.2 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 26.2% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 27.4% | 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).
Ozark County, MO Compared With Nearby Counties
Ozark County, MO is the smallest of the 4 counties compared here, 8,873 residents against a local median of 42,405. Ozark County, MO's commute, at 30.1 min, runs 80% above the 16.7 min typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $96,935 against a local median of $151,138, 36% below it. The counties themselves sit within 2.6 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Ozark County, MO, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Ozark County, MO has the 4th lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozark County, MO | 8,873 | $44,159 #4/4 | $96,935 #3/4 | 30.1 min #4/4 |
| Baxter County, AR | 42,405 | $48,614 | $244,686 | 16.1 min |
| Howell County, MO | 40,383 | $51,550 | $75,999 | 16.7 min |
| Taney County, MO | 56,523 | $57,745 | $151,138 | 18.6 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Ozark County, Missouri.
What is the population of Ozark County, Missouri?
About 8,873 people live in Ozark County, Missouri, in 3,709 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 52.3, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 15 years.
Is Ozark County, Missouri urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Ozark County, Missouri has 12 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 14% of the U.S. average of 86.
Is Ozark County, Missouri an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.2 times the median household income ($96,935 against $44,159), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $630 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How educated are people in Ozark County, Missouri?
9.9% of adults in Ozark County, Missouri hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 10), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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