Nevada, Missouri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nevada, Missouri, pronounced "nuh-VAY-dah," is a city in Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,607 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Vernon County ^GR6.

Nevada is the home of Cottey College, a junior college for women operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a women's organization dedicated to the promotion of education for women.

1 Origin of name
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Notable natives
5 External links

[edit] Origin of name

Before its incorporation in 1855, the area had the names Fair View and Hog-Eye. The latter name was considered too homey and the former name had already been taken as a post office name in Missouri. The town was named after Nevada City, California by circuit and county clerk DeWitt C. Hunter after his travels to California during the Gold Rush of 1849.

The pronunciation of the city's name, though, is differently than the state's. The first "a" is pronounced long (rhymes with hay), giving the name "nuh-VAY-dah".

[edit] Geography

Nevada is located at 37°50′27″N, 94°21′20″W (37.840930, -94.355576)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.3 km² (9.0 mi²). 23.1 km² (8.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.67%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,607 people, 3,463 households, and 1,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 372.1/km² (964.1/mi²). There were 3,857 housing units at an average density of 166.8/km² (432.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.79% White, 1.03% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 3,463 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 82.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,774, and the median income for a family was $36,639. Males had a median income of $28,939 versus $17,424 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,118. About 13.7% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.