Profile of Cass County

DATA IS CHANGING

Updates when available

The US Census Bureau's 2000 census brief stated that the Nation's 1990 to 2000 population increase was the largest in American history. The population growth of 32.7 million people between 1990 and 2000 represents the largest census-to-census increase in American history. The previous record increase was 28.0 million people between 1950 and 1960, a gain fueled primarily by the post-World War II baby boom (1946 to 1964). Total decennial population growth declined steadily in the three decades following the 1950s peak before rising again in the 1990s. Population growth varied significantly by region in the 1990s, with higher rates in the West (19.7%) and the South (17.3%) and much lower rates in the Midwest (7.9 %) and the Northeast (5.5%). Meanwhile, despite overall population growth in each of the past five decades, the Midwest ’s share of total population fell from 29 to 23%.

Cass County has added about 42,600 people in the last three decades, growing from a small County of about 39,500 people in 1970 to more than 82,000 people in 2000. According to the 2000 Census, Cass County’ population is 82,092, an increase of 18,284 people (about 29%) from the 1990 Census (Ref. Table 1.1, Fig. 1.1). In comparison, the State of Missouri grew by 9.3% (Source: US Census). The Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) registered a population increase of 12.2% (184,024 people) over 4% higher than the average growth in the Midwest. These are significant increases compared to the average rate of growth for the Midwest and the Nation as a whole. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) as a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration with that core.

A comparison with a "Control Group" of five similar sized and similar situated counties in the region shows a similar trend in most suburban Counties. The five control counties are Warren County, MO; Clay County, MO; Clinton County, MO; Lafayette County, MO; and, Miami County, KS. In the last decade, with the exception of Lafayette County, MO, which increased in population by about 6%, all other counties in the control set saw substantial increases in population. Miami County increased in population by over 40% and Warren County increased by over 25%.

Growth indices, which are a means of comparison of growth rates of different entities assuming the base population of 1 for each entity, shows that Cass County has grown faster than the average of the control counties, the MSA, the State and the Nation.

Education

Public Elementary & Secondary Education

Cass County residents are served by 10 school districts. Over 80 percent of public school students in the county attend schools of the four largest districts.

Graduate and Professional Schools

Nine institutions within the metro area offer graduate degrees in numerous disciplines. The University of Kansas (Lawrence) and the University of Missouri (Kansas City) also offer professional degrees in law, medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. Degrees in osteopathic medicine are offered by the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City. Kansas City is also home to the Cleveland Chiropractic College.

Other Area Resources

Kansas State University in Manhattan, Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., the University of Missouri's Columbia campus, Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, and University of Central Missouri State  in Warrensburg are some of the nearby major institutions from which area employers also recruit.

Population and Change Like many other in the West Central region Cass County's population is increasing . Between 2000 and 2004, the county population increased by 9,501 persons (11.6%) to 91,593.

Components of Change Since 2000 Cass County had 1,768 more births than deaths, and an in-migration of 7,733 people.

Age About 12 % of Cass county residents are 65 and older compared with 13.3 % statewide. At the same time, the population of young people under 18 in the county (26.4%) is greater than the state (24.7%).

Diversity Cass County population is over 95.5 % White. The county includes 1,779 Blacks, 590 Asian and 1,627 other racial minorities. Additionally, the county includes 2,338 Hispanics.

Place of Residence Estimates for 2004 show the greatest concentration of population to be in the city of Belton (23,793). In addition, 9.4 % live in smaller towns and 27.4 % live in open country areas.

Housing According to Census estimates there was 34,862 housing units Cass County in 2003. The homeownership rate is 79.6% compared to 70.3% statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $104,200 compared with a statewide median value of $ 89,900.

Households and Families There are about 30,236 households in the county. 76.4% of households are families (23,096). Thirty Percent of family households are married couples with children under 18. These proportions are higher than the state overall. However, Cass County has less single parents families (*.1%) than Missouri (9.1%).

Families and Children Median family income was $55,258 in Cass County in 1999 compared with $46,044 for Missouri.

·        The 2002 poverty rate in Cass County (6.6%) is lower that the state rate (11.3%), but has increased from 5.8% in 2000. The poverty rate among children in Cass County has increased from 7.0 % in 2000 to 8.7% in 2002, but it remains well below the state rate of 15.7%.

·        Overall Cass County indicators on children rank among the highest, ranking 10^th out of 115 counties in the state. However, Kids Count Indicators for Cass County show that low birth weight infants decreased slightly to 6.2% and births to teenage mothers decreased to 35.7% per 1,000 girls. Conversely, child abuse and neglect cases (41.4 cases per 1,000 for 2003) are below the state rate. Twenty-two percent of students in Cass County are enrolled in the free and reduced lunch programs.

Jobs by Sector The May 2005 unemployment rate in the county was 4.8% compared with 5.4 % statewide. There were 34,163 jobs in Cass County in 2003. Retail Trade accounts for 15.7% of the total jobs 5,356. Construction (4048) Local Government (3,746) and Health care and social assistance (2,705) are the next highest categories.

Agriculture There are 1,635 farms in the county with total sales of about $48.4 million and production expenses of $43.5 million generating about $4.9 million in net farm income. Only about 4.7% of all farms in the county had sales of $100,000 or more while 67.6 % had less then $10,000 in sales.

County Income Patterns Cass County generated about $2.5 billion of total personal income in 2003. The per capita income in the county was $28,032 compared with $29,464 for Missouri. The largest percentage of income came from Construction (5.7%). Also important were Local Government (5.3%) and Retail Trade (4.5%). Sources of income other than earning are important to Cass County. Transfer payments, including social security, amount to about $434 million- 13.8% of the total person income. Dividends, Interest and Rent amounted to $355.6 million.

Commuting In Cass County, 64.1 % of county workers commute outside county to work. Statewide, 25.2 % of workers travel between 30 to 60 minutes to work, while in Cass County 40.3 % travel as long. Similarly, 7.2 % of Cass County workers travel more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4% statewide.

Educational Attainment In Cass County 17.7% of residents (9,334) are college graduates compared with27% of all Missourians, The High School graduation rate in Cass County(86%) is slightly higher than the state (85.5%).

Disabilities There are 4,508 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (50.7). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.5 % . Among the working age population in Cass County, 4,879 report of some disability, a rate of 9.5 % compared to a rate of 10.8 %.

Health Status Indicators Nearly 15 % of Cass County residents report their health as "fair or poor"  compared with 16.9 % statewide. While 12.3% of Missourians report having no health coverage, the percent without coverage in Cass County is estimated to be 7.6 %. State health data indicate that the rate of current smokers (18.5%) and high blood pressure (28%) are lower in Cass County than in the state of Missouri (26.5%, 28.5%). Rates of asthma (14.2%) and diabetes (8.9%) are higher in Cass County than in the state (10.7%, 7.2%).