Sparta, Missouri

Sparta is a city in north central Christian County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Sparta had a population of 1,876. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

A post office called Sparta has been in operation since 1876. The city's name is a transfer from Sparta, Tennessee. Sparta got rail service when a subsidiary of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (Frisco) extended a line from Ozark, Missouri to Chadwick, Missouri in the Spring of 1883. But passenger service on the Frisco line was discontinued in March 1933, and in 1934 the line from Ozark to Chadwick was abandoned entirely.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Sparta had a population of 1,876. The median age was 33.8 years. 27.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.3 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 703 households in Sparta, of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.5% were married-couple households, 15.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 1,756 people, 696 households, and 476 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 763 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.6% White, 0.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 696 households, of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median age in the city was 30.8 years. 29.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.3% were from 25 to 44; 18.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census Sparta has one patrol officer and some reserve police officers. The Christian County Sheriff's office provides services when no Sparta police officer is available.

Education

The Sparta R-III School District is a K–12 institution of about 750 students that serves Sparta and the surrounding area and has been led by Landon Gray since 2021.

Notable person

William T. Tyndall, Missouri congressman (1905-1907) and Sparta postmaster (1891-1893, 1897–1905)