Charleston, Missouri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charleston is a city in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,732 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mississippi County^GR6. The town was laid out in 1837. Governor Warren E. Hearnes and his wife, former gubernatorial candidate, Betty C. Hearnes are from Charleston, along with writer Thad Snow, and baseball player Matt Whiteside. Charlie Babb, former Miami Dolphin who played on the undefeated 1972 team, also calls Charleston home. Charleston High School boy's basketball teams boast ten state championship basketball titles in Class 3A state contests. The most recent win came on March 16, 2007. Charleston is also the home of the Charleston Fighting Squirrels Sr. and Jr. Babe Ruth League baseball teams.

[edit] Geography

Charleston is located at 36°55′17″N, 89°20′47″W (36.921475, -89.346426)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 km² (4.7 mi²). 12.1 km² (4.7 mi²)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,732 people, 1,834 households, and 1,228 families residing in the city. The population density was 390.4/km² (1,011.8/mi²). There were 1,957 housing units at an average density of 161.5/km² (418.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.11% White, 45.60% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.

There were 1,834 households out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,812, and the median income for a family was $28,178. Males had a median income of $25,908 versus $17,292 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,876. About 21.2% of families and 26.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.3% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.