Pike County, Missouri

Pike County, Missouri
Location in the state of Missouri
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded	1818
Named for	Zebulon M. Pike
Seat	Bowling Green
Largest city	Louisiana
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	684.81 sq mi (1,774 km²) 672.82 sq mi (1,743 km²) 11.99 sq mi (31 km²), 1.75%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	18,516 27/sq mi (11/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county was organized in 1818 and named for Zebulon M. Pike, explorer. As of 2010, the population was 18,516. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The folksong Sweet Betsy from Pike is generally thought to refer to Pike County, Missouri.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 684.81 square miles (1,773.6 km²), of which 672.82 square miles (1,742.6 km²) (or 98.25%) is land and 11.99 square miles (31.1 km²) (or 1.75%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Ralls County (northwest)
• Pike County, Illinois (northeast)
• Calhoun County, Illinois (east)
• Lincoln County (south)
• Montgomery County (southwest)
• Audrain County (west)

Pike County, Missouri, is one of the few counties in the United States to border its namesake in another state—in this case, Pike County, Illinois.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 54
• U.S. Route 61
• Route 79
• Route 161

National protected area

• Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	25,744		—
1910	22,556		−12.4%
1920	20,345		−9.8%
1930	18,001		−11.5%
1940	18,327		1.8%
1950	16,844		−8.1%
1960	16,706		−0.8%
1970	16,928		1.3%
1980	17,568		3.8%
1990	15,969		−9.1%
2000	18,351		14.9%
2010	18,516		0.9%

As of the census of 2010, there were 18,516 people, 6,451 households, and 4,476 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 7,493 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.44% White, 9.17% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 1.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.6% were of American, 24.5% German, 8.9% English and 8.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 6,451 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 119.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,373, and the median income for a family was $39,059. Males had a median income of $28,528 versus $19,426 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,462. 15.50% of the population and 11.90% of families were below the poverty line. 20.20% of those under the age of 18 and 15.20% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Cities and towns

Annada Ashburn Ashley Bowling Green

Clarksville Curryville Eolia Frankford

Louisiana New Hartford Paynesville Tarrants

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pike County, Missouri

External links

• Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Pike County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books