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Jefferson County, Missouri
Jefferson County MO courthouse-20140524-015
The Jefferson County Courthouse in Hillsboro
Seal of Jefferson County, Missouri
Seal
Map of Missouri highlighting Jefferson County
Location in the state of Missouri
Map of the U.S
Missouri's location in the U.S.
Founded 1818
Named for Thomas Jefferson
Seat Hillsboro
Largest city Arnold
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

664 sq mi (1,720 km²)
657 sq mi (1,702 km²)
7.7 sq mi (20 km²), 1.2
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

226,739
Congressional districts 2nd, 3rd, 8th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.jeffcomo.org

Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739,[1] making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Hillsboro.[2] The county was organized in 1818 and named in honor of former president Thomas Jefferson.[3][4]

In 1980, according to the U.S. census held that year, the county contained the mean center of U.S. population. Notably, this was the first census in which the center of population was west of the Mississippi River.

Jefferson County is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area and encompasses many of the city's southern suburbs.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 664 square miles (1,720 km2), of which 657 square miles (1,700 km2) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km2) (1.2%) is water.[5] The county's eastern border is the Mississippi River.

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • I-55 (MO) Interstate 55
  • US 61 U.S. Route 61
  • US 67 U.S. Route 67
  • MO-21 Route 21
  • MO-30 Route 30
  • MO-109 Route 109
  • MO-110 Route 110
  • MO-141 Route 141
  • MO-231 Route 231

National protected area[]

  • Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1820 1,835
1830 2,592 41.3%
1840 4,296 65.7%
1850 6,928 61.3%
1860 10,344 49.3%
1870 15,380 48.7%
1880 18,736 21.8%
1890 22,484 20.0%
1900 25,712 14.4%
1910 27,878 8.4%
1920 26,555 −4.7%
1930 27,563 3.8%
1940 32,023 16.2%
1950 38,007 18.7%
1960 66,377 74.6%
1970 105,248 58.6%
1980 146,183 38.9%
1990 171,380 17.2%
2000 198,099 15.6%
2010 218,733 10.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]

As of the 2010 Census Jefferson County had a population of 218,733. The reported ethnic and racial make up of the population was 95.4% non-Hispanic white, 0.8% African-American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% reporting some other race, 1.3% reporting two or more races and 1.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[10]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 198,099 people, 71,499 households, and 54,553 families residing in the county. The population density was 302 inhabitants per square mile (117 /km2). There were 75,586 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile (44/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.48% White, 0.68% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Approximately 1.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 71,499 households, out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.70% were non-families. 18.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 31.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $60,636, and the median income for a family was $66,697. Males had a median income of $37,822 versus $25,440 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,058. About 4.90% of families and 6.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.10% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

There were 146,316 registered voters in 2008.[12] As of Oct. 24, 2012, there were 148,011.[13]

Education[]

Public schools[]

  • School District 47 - Crystal City
    • Crystal City High School - Crystal City
  • De Soto School District 73 - De Soto
    • Early Childhood Center (PK)
    • Athena Elementary School (K-06)
    • Vineland Elementary School (K-06)
    • De Soto Jr. High School (07-08)
    • De Soto High School (09-12)
  • Dunklin R-V School District - Herculaneum
  • Festus R-IV School District - Festus
    • Festus Elementary School (K-03)
    • Festus Intermediate School (04-06)
    • Festus Middle School (07-08)
    • Festus High School (09-12)
  • Fox C-6 School District - Arnold
  • Grandview R-II School District - Hillsboro
    • Grandview Elementary School (K-05) - Hillsboro
    • Grandview Middle School (06-08) - Hillsboro
    • Grandview High School (09-12) - Ware
  • Hillsboro R-3 School District - Hillsboro
    • Hillsboro Primary School (K-02)
    • Hillsboro Elementary School (03-04)
    • Hillsboro Middle School (05-06)
    • Hillsboro Jr. High School (07-08)
    • Hillsboro High School (09-12)
  • Jefferson County R-VII School District - Festus
    • Plattin Primary School (PK-02) - Plattin
    • Telegraph Intermediate School (03-05) - Festus
    • Danby-Rush Tower Middle School (06-08) - Festus
    • Jefferson High School- Festus
  • Northwest R-I School District - High Ridge
    • Brennan Woods Elementary School (K-05) - High Ridge
    • Cedar Springs Elementary School (K-05) - House Springs
    • High Ridge Elementary School (K-05) - High Ridge
    • House Springs Elementary School (K-05) - House Springs
    • Maple Grove Elementary School (K-05) - Dittmer
    • Murphy Elementary School (K-05) - High Ridge
    • Woodridge Middle School (06-08) - High Ridge
    • Valley Middle School (06-08) - House Springs
    • Northwest High School (09-12) - Cedar Hill
  • Sunrise R-IX School District - De Soto
    • Sunrise Elementary School (K-08) - De Soto
  • Windsor C-1 School District - Imperial

Private schools[]

  • Christian Outreach School (K-12) - Hillsboro - Nondenominational Christian
  • People's Christian Academy (K-12) - Arnold - Assembly of God/Pentecostal
  • St. Pius X High School (09-12) - Festus - Roman Catholic
  • Twin City Christian Academy (PK-12) - Festus - Baptist
  • Good Shepherd Catholic School - (K-08) - Hillsboro - Roman Catholic
  • Holy Child Elementary & Middle School - Arnold - (K-08) - Roman Catholic
  • Manna Christian Academy - De Soto - (K-12) - Southern Baptist
  • Our Lady's Catholic School - Festus - (K-08) - Roman Catholic
  • Sacred Heart Catholic School - Festus - (K-08) - Roman Catholic
  • St. Anthony's Catholic School - High Ridge - (K-08) - Roman Catholic
  • St. Joseph's Catholic School - Imperial - (K-08) - Roman Catholic
  • St. Johns Lutheran School - Arnold - (PK-08) - Lutheran
  • St. Johns School - Imperial - (K-08) - Nondenominational Christianity
  • St. Rose of Lima Catholic School - De Soto - (K-08) - Roman Catholic

Post-secondary[]

Jefferson College - Hillsboro A public, two-year community college

Public libraries[]

  • Crystal City Public Library[14]
  • De Soto Public Library[15]
  • Festus Public Library[16]
  • Herculaneum Public Library[17]
  • Jefferson County Public Library[18]

Politics[]

Local[]

Historically, the Democratic Party has controlled politics at the local level in Jefferson County. Democrats hold all but two of the elected positions in the county. However, Republicans have made gains in recent years; they hold five of seven seats on the county council.

Jefferson County, Missouri
Elected countywide officials
Assessor Robert Boyer Republican
Circuit Clerk Michael Reuter Republican
County Clerk Ken Waller Republican
Collector Michelle Worth Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski Republican
Public Administrator Steve Farmer Republican
Recorder Debbie Dunnegan Republican
Sheriff Dave Marshak Republican
Treasurer Paula Wagner Republican


Political culture[]

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Missouri[19]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 77,046 65.88% 37,523 32.08% 2,384 2.04%
2016 69,036 64.52% 31,568 29.50% 6,391 5.97%
2012 53,978 55.07% 41,564 42.40% 2,482 2.53%
2008 50,804 47.91% 53,467 50.42% 1,779 1.68%
2004 46,624 49.99% 46,057 49.38% 583 0.63%
2000 36,766 47.62% 38,616 50.02% 1,822 2.36%
1996 23,877 36.12% 32,073 48.52% 10,152 15.36%
1992 20,637 28.08% 32,569 44.31% 20,295 27.61%
1988 29,279 51.16% 27,738 48.47% 215 0.38%
1984 34,525 63.29% 20,026 36.71% 0 0.00%
1980 28,546 52.01% 24,042 43.81% 2,294 4.18%
1976 18,261 41.58% 25,159 57.29% 495 1.13%
1972 21,947 61.42% 13,787 38.58% 0 0.00%
1968 11,708 37.70% 13,230 42.60% 6,115 19.69%
1964 7,887 29.43% 18,916 70.57% 0 0.00%
1960 12,910 43.09% 17,054 56.91% 0 0.00%
1956 10,712 43.58% 13,868 56.42% 0 0.00%
1952 9,607 42.82% 12,808 57.08% 22 0.10%
1948 6,085 37.02% 10,280 62.55% 70 0.43%
1944 6,758 45.83% 7,953 53.94% 34 0.23%
1940 7,517 43.92% 9,553 55.82% 45 0.26%
1936 5,575 37.23% 9,158 61.16% 241 1.61%
1932 4,559 35.50% 8,130 63.30% 155 1.21%
1928 6,285 54.47% 5,231 45.34% 22 0.19%
1924 4,870 48.88% 4,356 43.72% 737 7.40%
1920 5,730 54.08% 4,684 44.21% 181 1.71%
1916 3,310 51.01% 3,021 46.56% 158 2.43%
1912 2,127 40.84% 2,368 45.47% 713 13.69%
1908 3,050 52.00% 2,698 46.00% 117 1.99%
1904 2,909 52.09% 2,560 45.84% 116 2.08%
1900 2,775 49.20% 2,798 49.61% 67 1.19%
1896 2,876 50.46% 2,785 48.87% 38 0.67%
1892 2,207 44.70% 2,617 53.01% 113 2.29%
1888 2,228 47.31% 2,438 51.77% 43 0.91%



A predominantly suburban county, Jefferson County used to be fairly independent-leaning at the federal level with a tendency to tilt Democratic. Presidential elections in Jefferson County were often very close; George W. Bush just narrowly carried the county in 2004 by less than 600 votes and by just over a half of a percentage point. Al Gore and Barack Obama also just narrowly carried the county in 2000 and 2008, respectively. Bill Clinton, however, did manage to carry Jefferson County by double digits both times in 1992 and 1996. However, in 2012 the county began to swing hard to the right with Mitt Romney carrying it with 55% of the vote. In 2016 Donald Trump won the county with 65% of the vote, the largest margin of any candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Typical of the suburban culture in most counties throughout the country, voters in Jefferson County tend to be rather centrist on social issues but more liberal on economic issues. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Jefferson County with 72.56 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it narrowly passed Jefferson County with 51.85 percent voting for the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Jefferson County with 79.90 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.

Health[]

According to a 2012 census study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jefferson County led the Saint Louis metropolitan area in the number of adults who smoke, roughly 30% of all adult residents of Jefferson County smoked or used tobacco in some form, compared to the 19% national average and the 24% Missouri state average.[20][21] Jefferson County and the state of Missouri led the nation in methamphetamine production, peaking in the mid-2000s.[22]

Recreation[]

  • Big River Saddle Club
  • Brown's Ford
  • Cedar Hill
  • Fletcher House
  • High Ridge Civic Center
  • Rockford Beach
  • Jefferson Winter Park
  • Minnie Ha Ha Park
  • Morse Mill
  • Pleasant Valley
  • Sunridge
  • NW Jefferson County Sports Complex

Communities[]

Cities[]

  • Arnold
  • Byrnes Mill
  • Crystal City
  • De Soto
  • Festus
  • Herculaneum
  • Hillsboro (county seat)
  • Kimmswick
  • Olympian Village
  • Pevely

Villages[]

  • Cedar Hill Lakes
  • Lake Tekakwitha
  • Parkdale
  • Peaceful Village
  • Scotsdale

Townships[]

  • Big River
  • Central
  • High Ridge
  • Joachim
  • Meramec
  • Plattin
  • Rock
  • Valle

Census-designated places[]

  • Barnhart
  • Briarwood Estates
  • Cedar Hill
  • High Ridge
  • Horine
  • Imperial
  • LaBarque Creek
  • Murphy
  • Raintree Plantation
  • Summer Set

Other unincorporated communities[]

  • Antonia
  • Bailey
  • Belews Creek
  • Bushburg
  • Danby
  • Dittmer
  • Donnell
  • Fletcher
  • Flucom
  • Frumet
  • Goldman
  • Grubville
  • Hematite
  • House Springs
  • Jarvis
  • Knorpp
  • Liguori
  • Local
  • Ludwig
  • Mapaville
  • Melzo
  • Meramec Heights
  • Morse Mill
  • Munsons
  • Oermann
  • Old Mines
  • Papin
  • Plattin
  • Regina
  • Riverside
  • Rush Tower
  • Seckman
  • Selma
  • Sulphur Springs
  • Valles Mines
  • Victoria
  • Vineland
  • Ware

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/29099.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 179. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RfAuAAAAYAAJ. 
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 168. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ. 
  5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_29.txt. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/mo190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  10. ^ 2010 census report for Jefferson County, Missouri
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  12. ^ "Registered Voters in Missouri 2008". http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/registeredvoters.asp?rvmID=0008. 
  13. ^ "Archived copy". http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/registeredvoters.asp?rvmID=0012.  Retrieved on Jul. 9, 2013
  14. ^ Breeding, Marshall. "Crystal City Public Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/20309. 
  15. ^ Breeding, Marshall. "De Soto Public Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/20303. 
  16. ^ Breeding, Marshall. "Festus Public Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/20314. 
  17. ^ Breeding, Marshall. "Herculaneum Public Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/20417. 
  18. ^ Breeding, Marshall. "Jefferson County Public Library". Libraries.org. https://librarytechnology.org/library/4722. 
  19. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  20. ^ lthorsen@post-dispatch.com > 636-937-6249, LEAH THORSEN •. "Jefferson County leads area in smoking rate" (in en). https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/jefferson-county-leads-area-in-smoking-rate/article_1c95d3c3-a49c-509d-a7d4-f23b8d1445a1.html. 
  21. ^ https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2009/07/29/jefferson-county-to-jefferson-countians-quit-smoking-fatsos
  22. ^ Stateline.org, Christine Vestal. "Meth making a comeback, but it's not your neighbors cooking it anymore" (in en). https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/meth-making-a-comeback-but-it-s-not-your-neighbors/article_c26aafd7-0604-54ce-9c7a-559305865e44.html. 

External links[]

Coordinates: 38°16′N 90°32′W / 38.26, -90.54


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Jefferson County, Missouri. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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