Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,071. The county seat is Buffalo. The county was organized in 1842 as Niangua County and then renamed in 1844 for George M. Dallas, who served as Vice President under James K. Polk.
Dallas County is part of the Springfield metropolitan area.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Camden County (north)
- Laclede County (east)
- Webster County (south)
- Greene County (southwest)
- Polk County (west)
- Hickory County (northwest)
Major highways
- 25px U.S. Route 65
- 25px Route 32
- 25px Route 64
- 25px Route 64A
- 25px Route 73
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Dallas County, Missouri – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 1980
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|11,928
|12,462
|15,164
|16,037
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15,696
|98.61%
|98.54%
|96.83%
|95.59%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |91.95%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|15
|16
|19
|29
|style='background: #ffffe6; |44
|0.12%
|0.13%
|0.12%
|0.17%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|67
|86
|117
|139
|style='background: #ffffe6; |92
|0.55%
|0.68%
|0.75%
|0.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.54%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|15
|17
|10
|40
|style='background: #ffffe6; |25
|0.12%
|0.13%
|0.06%
|0.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|5
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15
|x
|x
|0.03%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1
|0
|6
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |43
|0.01%
|0.00%
|0.04%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|193
|261
|style='background: #ffffe6; |836
|x
|x
|1.23%
|1.56%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.90%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|70
|65
|147
|260
|style='background: #ffffe6; |320
|0.58%
|0.51%
|0.94%
|1.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.87%
|-
|Total
|12,096
|12,646
|15,661
|16,777
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17,071
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 17,071. The median age was 42.9 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 5.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.9% of the population.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,625 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 6,914 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.45% White, 0.12% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. Approximately 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 3.57% percent reported speaking Pennsylvania German or German at home. Dallas County is the county with the largest concentration of Kauffman Amish Mennonites, who have preserved Pennsylvania German as their everyday language and an old form of Standard German for church. They had 950 adherents in Dallas County in 2010.
There were 6,030 households, out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,346; the median income for a family was $33,500. Males had a median income of $26,438 versus $17,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,106. About 14.20% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.40% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools
- Dallas County R-I School District – Buffalo
- Mallory Elementary School (PK-04)
- Buffalo Middle School (05-08)
- Buffalo High School (09-12)
- Hickory County R-I School District – Urbana
- Skyline Elementary School (K-04)
- Skyline Middle School (05-08)
- Skyline High School (09-12)
Private schools
- Meadowlark Hill - (PK-08) - Mennonite - Tunas
- Prairie Grove School - (01-08) - Amish - Buffalo
Communities
Cities
- Buffalo (county seat)
- Urbana
Village
- Louisburg
Census-designated place
- Bennett Springs
Other unincorporated places
- Boyd
- Celt
- Charity
- Cloverdale
- Elixer
- Foose
- Handley
- Leadmine
- Long Lane
- March
- Mathis
- Olive
- Plad
- Redtop
- Reynolds
- Shady Grove
- Spring Grove
- Tunas
- Wall Street
- Windyville
- Wood Hill
Notable people
- Roy Meeker - professional baseball player
Politics
Local
The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Dallas County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.
State
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Past gubernatorial elections results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! Republican
! Democratic
! Third parties
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2024
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|79.79% 6,665
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|18.05% 1,508
|align="center" |2.16% 180
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2020
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|82.10% 6,646
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|15.98% 1,294
|align="center" |1.91% 155
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2016
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|66.67% 4,943
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|29.82% 2,211
|align="center" |3.51% 260
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2012
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|53.42% 3,882
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|43.32% 3,148
|align="center" |3.26% 237
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2008
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|41.92% 3,212
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|54.46% 4,173
|align="center" |3.61% 277
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2004
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|65.01% 4,708
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|33.43% 2,421
|align="center" |1.56% 113
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2000
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|55.16% 3,429
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|42.99% 2,672
|align="center" |1.85% 115
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|1996
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|54.60% 3,083
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41.80% 2,360
|align="center" |3.60% 203
|}
All of Dallas County is a part of Missouri's 129th district in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by John Black (R-Marshfield) since 2019.
All of Dallas County is a part of Missouri's 28th district in the Missouri Senate. The seat has been held by Sandy Crawford since 2017.
Federal
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Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)
Former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 1,157, than any candidate from either party in Dallas County during the 2008 presidential primary. She narrowly edged out former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) by four votes.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Missouri
References
Further reading
- History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent counties, Missouri (1889) full text
External links
- Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Dallas County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books.