Jefferson County, Missouri

Jefferson County is located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 226,739, making it the sixth-most populous county in Missouri. Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county was organized in 1818 and named in honor of former president Thomas Jefferson. 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 , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. The county's eastern border is the Mississippi River.

Adjacent counties

St. Louis County (north)
Monroe County, Illinois (east)
Ste. Genevieve County (southeast)
St. Francois County (south)
Washington County (southwest)
Franklin County (west)

Major highways

National protected area

Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 226,739 and a median age of 40.3 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% White, 1.0% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.

65.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 34.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 86,959 households in the county, of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|143,652

|168,071

|191,753

|208,742

|style='background: #ffffe6; |203,287

|98.27%

|98.07%

|96.80%

|95.43%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |89.66%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|952

|1,188

|1,340

|1,776

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,295

|0.65%

|0.69%

|0.68%

|0.81%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.01%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|284

|407

|543

|608

|style='background: #ffffe6; |617

|0.19%

|0.24%

|0.27%

|0.28%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|Asian alone (NH)

|250

|526

|691

|1,403

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,839

|0.17%

|0.31%

|0.35%

|0.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.81%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|27

|48

|style='background: #ffffe6; |71

|0.01%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|Other race alone (NH)

|114

|37

|79

|120

|style='background: #ffffe6; |622

|0.08%

|0.02%

|0.04%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|1,664

|2,628

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,456

|0.84%

|1.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.49%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|931

|1,151

|2,002

|3,408

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,552

|0.64%

|0.67%

|1.01%

|1.56%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.45%

|Total

|146,183

|171,380

|198,099

|218,733

|style='background: #ffffe6; |226,739

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

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.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 198,099 people, 71,499 households, and 54,553 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 75,586 housing units at an average density of . 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. As of October 24, 2012, there were 148,011.

Education

K-12 school districts with territory in the county, no matter how slight, include:

Crystal City 47 School District
De Soto 73 School District
Dunklin R-V School District
Festus R-VI School District
Fox C-6 School District
Grandview R-II School District
Hillsboro R-III School District
Kingston K-14 School District
North St. Francis County R-I School District
Northwest R-I School District
Meramec Valley R-III School District
Rockwood R-VI School District
Windsor C-1 School District

Additionally, there are two elementary school districts: Jefferson County R-VII School District and Sunrise R-IX School District.

De Soto Public Library
Festus Public Library
Herculaneum Public Library
Jefferson County Public Library

Politics

Local

Historically, the Democratic Party has controlled politics at the local level; starting in 2010 the Republican Party has flipped the county with 66% of the population voting Republican in 2020.

State

Jefferson County is divided into seven legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives; all of which are held by Republicans. Jefferson County consists of two State Senate Districts.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Past gubernatorial elections results

|- style="background:lightgrey;"

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third Parties

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2024

|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|66.98% 78,385

|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|30.55% 35,753

|align="center" |2.47% 2,896

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|2020

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|63.91% 73,942

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|33.59% 38,866

| style="text-align:center;"|2.50% 2,886

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|2016

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|53.62% 56.755

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|42.74% 45.234

| style="text-align:center;"|3.64% 3,848

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|2012

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|41.75% 40,470

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|55.68% 53,971

| style="text-align:center;"|2.56% 2,484

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|2008

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|34.42% 35,947

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|63.87% 66,697

| style="text-align:center;"|1.71% 1,781

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|2004

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff3f3;"|49.23% 45,891

| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0ff;"|49.25% 45,909

| style="text-align:center;"|1.52% 1,424

|- style="text-align:center;"

| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|2000

| style="background:#fff3f3;"|47.05% 36,060

| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|49.33% 37,808

||3.62% 2,775

|- style="text-align:center;"

| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|1996

| style="background:#fff3f3;"|43.90% 28,986

| style="background:#f0f0ff;"|52.96% 34,970

||3.14% 2,077

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, in line with the state as a whole, 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.

2008 Missouri presidential primary

;Republican

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) won Jefferson County with 33.54% of the vote. Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) finished in second with 30.45% of the vote, while former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) came in third with 30.19% in Jefferson County. Libertarian-leaning U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) finished a distant fourth place with 3.94% of the vote in Jefferson County. McCain received all of Missouri's 58 delegates as the Republican Party utilizes the winner-takes-all system.

;Democratic

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) won Jefferson County over Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) with 61.32% of the vote, while Obama received 35.02% of the vote. Although he withdrew from the race, former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) still received 2.74% of the vote in Jefferson County. Jefferson County gave Clinton one of her strongest showings in a predominantly suburban county in the entire country.

Clinton had a large initial lead in Missouri at the beginning of the evening as the rural precincts began to report, leading several news organizations to call the state for her; however, Obama rallied from behind as the heavily African American precincts from St. Louis began to report and eventually put him over the top. In the end, Obama received 49.32 percent of the vote to Clinton's 47.90% — a 1.42% difference. Both candidates split Missouri's 72 delegates, as the Democratic Party utilizes proportional representation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton received more votes, a total of 19,075, than any candidate from either party in Jefferson County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Primaries. She also received more votes than the total number of votes cast in the entire Republican Primary in Jefferson County.

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.

Jefferson County and the state of Missouri led the nation in methamphetamine production, peaking in the mid-2000s.

Jefferson County Parks and Recreation

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

Communities

Cities

Arnold
Byrnes Mill
Crystal City
De Soto
Eureka (Mostly in St.Louis County)
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
Byrnesville
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

References

External links

Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Jefferson County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Jefferson County Heritage and Historical Society of Missouri
Jefferson County Online
https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Publications/2021-2022_MO_Roster.pdf