History
Howard County was settled mainly from the upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them and grew hemp and tobacco. Howard was one of several counties settled mainly by Southerners along the Missouri River in the center of the state. Because of this, this area became known as Little Dixie, and Howard County was at its heart. Following the 1848 revolutions in germany, many German immigrants also came to this region.
Because of the reliance on slave labor, by 1860 African American slaves made up at least 25 percent of the county's population. Many Howard County residents supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws and racial segregation were enforced in the county. Five African Americans were lynched in Howard County between 1891 and 1914. These were Olli Truxton, Frank Embree, Thomas Hayden, Arthur McNeal, and Dallas Shields.
The county continued to be developed for agriculture and is still mostly rural. However, Howard has lost population since reaching its peak in 1900. The mechanization of farming reduced the demand for labor, and many people left for jobs in the cities. In 2000 African-Americans in the county had declined to less than 7 percent of the total. Nearly one-third of the residents now identify themselves as of German ancestry.
Demographics
| Historical population |
| Census | Pop. | | %± |
| 1820 | 13,426 | | — |
| 1830 | 10,854 | | −19.2% |
| 1840 | 13,108 | | 20.8% |
| 1850 | 13,969 | | 6.6% |
| 1860 | 15,946 | | 14.2% |
| 1870 | 17,233 | | 8.1% |
| 1880 | 18,428 | | 6.9% |
| 1890 | 17,371 | | −5.7% |
| 1900 | 18,337 | | 5.6% |
| 1910 | 15,653 | | −14.6% |
| 1920 | 13,997 | | −10.6% |
| 1930 | 13,490 | | −3.6% |
| 1940 | 13,026 | | −3.4% |
| 1950 | 11,857 | | −9.0% |
| 1960 | 10,859 | | −8.4% |
| 1970 | 10,561 | | −2.7% |
| 1980 | 10,008 | | −5.2% |
| 1990 | 9,631 | | −3.8% |
| 2000 | 10,212 | | 6.0% |
| 2010 | 10,144 | | −0.7% |
| 2020 | 10,151 | | 0.1% |
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2020 |
At the 2020 census, 10,151 people lived in the county. There were 3,873 households and 841 people who did not live in households. The population density was 21.9 people per square mile (8.5/km²). The median age was 38.8 years (38.1 for males, 39.3 for females).
Of the total population, 22.1% were under 18 years old, 59.1% were 18 to 64, and 18.8% were 65 or over. Males made up 50.1% and females made up 49.9% of the people. The population was 86.9% White (non-Latino), 5.3% Black (non-Latino), 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, and 4.6% Two or more races (non-Latino). Other races each made up less than 1% of the population.
Of the 3,873 households, 2,539 (65.6%) were families, 1,133 (29.3%) had children under 18, 1,916 (49.5%) had a married couple, and 1,100 (28.4%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.4 people. There were 4,368 housing units, and 88.7% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 75.2% were owner-occupied, while 24.8% were renters.
As of 2022, the median (middle) yearly income for a household was about $59,023, and the median income for a family was about $71,759. The per capita income was about $27,474. About 7.8% of families and 12.8% of all people in Howard County lived below the poverty line. This includes 15.9% of children under 18 years old and 9.8% of people over 65 years old.
United States
Missouri