| Buchanan County, Missouri | |
Location in the state of Missouri |
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Missouri's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | December 31, 1838 |
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| Named for | U.S. Senator, later President James Buchanan in 1839 |
| Seat | St. Joseph |
| Largest city | St. Joseph |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
414.57 sq mi (1,074 km²) 409.73 sq mi (1,061 km²) 4.84 sq mi (13 km²), 1.17 |
| Population - (2008) - Density |
89,408 218/sq mi (84/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | http://www.co.buchanan.mo.us/ |
Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 89,201. Its county seat is Saint Joseph[1]. When originally formed in 1838, the county was named Roberts County, after settler Hiram Roberts; it was renamed in 1839 for James Buchanan, then a U.S. Senator, later President of the United States. Sarah Davies, a Western Emigrant, in her diary entry of May 22, 1851 states “we camped on the black snake hills of bucannan county” she concludes her entry “beautiful green as fair as the eye can see a more beautiful sight I never saw”. The county, along with Andrew and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas, is included in the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2008 had an estimated population of 126,359.
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According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 414.57 square miles (1,073.7 km2), of which 409.73 square miles (1,061.2 km2) (or 98.83%) is land and 4.84 square miles (12.5 km2) (or 1.17%) is water.[2]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 121,838 |
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| 1910 | 93,020 | −23.7% | |
| 1920 | 93,684 | 0.7% | |
| 1930 | 98,633 | 5.3% | |
| 1940 | 94,067 | −4.6% | |
| 1950 | 96,826 | 2.9% | |
| 1960 | 90,581 | −6.4% | |
| 1970 | 86,915 | −4.0% | |
| 1980 | 87,888 | 1.1% | |
| 1990 | 83,083 | −5.5% | |
| 2000 | 85,998 | 3.5% | |
| 2010 | 89,201 | 3.7% | |
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 85,998 people, 33,557 households, and 21,912 families residing in the county. The population density was 210 people per square mile (81/km²). There were 36,574 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile (34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.73% White, 4.36% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 2.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 33,557 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.70% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,704, and the median income for a family was $42,408. Males had a median income of $31,697 versus $21,827 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,882. About 8.50% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.00% of those under age 18 and 9.60% of those age 65 or over.
Buchanan County is divided into twelve townships:
| Doniphan County, Kansas | Andrew County | DeKalb County | ||
| Clinton County | ||||
| Buchanan County, Missouri | ||||
| Atchison County, Kansas | Platte County |
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