MCDC News and Updates

Story Map

Census 2020 and Missouri’s Changing Population

Last year, the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS) and MCDC brought you several interactive applications that focused on the US Census. We looked at what kinds of public services depend on an accurate census count for the proper distribution of funds and we explored the racial geography of Missouri at a county level. This was all in expectation of the release of the highly anticipated 2020 US Census.

Well, dearest friends and fellow map enthusiasts, the 2020 Census data is here. Let’s have a closer look at Missouri population changes since 2000 and 2010.

Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.

Missouri Surpassed 6 Million Persons in the 2010s

The U.S. Census Bureau has published a collection of state population profiles for 2020 as part of its “America Counts” story series.

Missouri now has a population of 6,154,913 and 2,786,621 housing units.

Between 2010 and 2020, Missouri’s population increased by 165,986, or 2.8%. By comparison, the overall U.S. population increase was 7.4%.

Missouri’s under-18 population decreased over the past 10 years by 3.2%, while the adult population increased by 4.6%.

Some key figures about the population of the entire United States, for comparison:

  • Population was up to 331.4 million.
  • The Diversity Index went up to 61.1%, from 54.9%.
  • The under-18 population decreased by 1.4%, and the adult population increased by 10.1%.
  • The number of housing units went up 6.7%, and vacancies went down to 9.7% of all housing units.

Visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s Missouri profile page to learn more.

Story Map

A Geographic Perspective on Women in Missouri Politics

With this month’s MCDC story map, designed by Abby Hunt, student intern at the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS), we examine which House and Senate districts of the state are represented by women and then consider why certain trends exist.

By reviewing state-level elected offices from a geographic perspective, we can begin to think about the way women influence space and politics. Although legal barriers to running for office may be gone, the glass ceiling is still very much intact when it comes to politics.

Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.

Story Map

Missouri Racial Demographics in Census 2010

race map illustration

About a year ago, the Missouri Census Data Center and MSDIS jointly published a story map detailing just a few of the many ways that Missouri benefits from a complete and accurate census. While the official counting period for Census 2020 has only just recently come to a close, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at what Missouri looked like ten years ago, starting with racial demographics.

The maps in this application show the percentage of each Missouri census tract that identified as White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, or Native Hawaiian. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of our census tracts are primarily occupied with Missourians who identified themselves as White. If you take a moment to compare the different categories, though, some very interesting patterns start to make themselves known.

Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.

Map of the Month

Missouri’s Uninsured Population, Before and After ACA

In March 2015, the U.S. Census released the 2013 data collected by the Small Area Health Insurance Estimates Program (SAHIE). The SAHIE data is a valuable reference that provides annual estimates of health insurance coverage for every county in the United States. That year, MCDC published a map showing insurance coverage rates for Missouri counties. The 2013 SAHIE data was of particular interest, as that was the last round collected before the first enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”).

More than five years have passed since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, and we now have an opportunity to compare rates of uninsured persons across Missouri between 2013 and 2018. These two maps both use SAHIE data and the same value scale. (Note that the 2013 map shown here differs slightly from the one we published in 2015. This is due to a different classification scheme, but the underlying data is the same.)

Uninsured in Missouri, before and after ACA

Taking a look first at the 2013 map, we can see that the percentage of uninsured working adults aged 18-64 in Missouri ranged from a low of 11.6% in St. Charles County to a high of 29,3% in Knox County. All counties in the state had an uninsured working population of 11.6% or greater.

The picture is quite different in 2018. Almost all Missouri counties now have uninsured rates of less than 20%, with many under 15%, especially in the central areas of the state. A few counties in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas have uninsured rates of less than 10%.

More significantly, the number and rates of Missouri’s most-uninsured counties have gone down substantially. In 2013, there were 20 Missouri counties where more than a quarter of the adult population were uninsured. By 2018, there were none.

Despite the differences in uninsured rates over the five-year period, one thing hasn’t changed much: The number of hospitals. In fact, between 2013 and 2018, the number of Missouri counties that lack a hospital increased from 41 to 46, according to the Missouri Hospital Profiles By County list, maintained by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

However, only eight of those counties — Hickory, Knox, McDonald, Morgan, Ozark, Shannon, and Wright — had uninsured populations of 20% or more in 2018. That compares with 15 counties without hospitals that had uninsured populations of 25% or more in 2013. So, the overall picture for access to affordable health care has improved.

In addition, the DHSS list of hospitals does not include smaller facilities such as rural clinics, which can better serve a rural population with higher insured rates.

Story Map

Change in Missouri Voter Turnout, 2000-2016

aerial view of downtown St. Louis

With this month’s MCDC/GRC story map, we explore the changes in voter turnout across the state between presidential elections to shed insight on how Missouri has gone from purple to bright red in just a few short years.

The map, designed by Jefferson Daubitz of the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS), examines the question of who votes, rather than who they vote for. It explores a variable too often ignored in politics — changes in turnout. Each map is fully interactive. Right-click on any county to open a small window that shows the change in voter turnout between each presidential election since 2000.

Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.

Missouri County Pages Are Back

After a very long hiatus, the application formerly known as “Missouri County Pages” is back in operation. We’re now calling it “Missouri [County] Fact Sheets”, and a few of the old data variables have been replaced. Otherwise, the application has similar appearance and functionality to the old version.

The Missouri Fact Sheets application generates a report for any county in Missouri, including population trends, age and race, income, employment, agriculture, households and housing, poverty, education, and children and families.

See it in action here: http://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/MO-county-factsheets/.

Story Map

Women’s Role in the Missouri Workforce

Illustration by Ankita Ackroyd-Isales

Although Women’s History Month has come and gone, it is important to continue thinking about the various trends facing women at work. Here, we examine workforce participation. Women’s participation greatly increased throughout the second half of the twentieth century, but beginning in 2000, it began to stagnate and decrease.

This story map, designed by Abby Hunt of the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS), offers a county-level look at female participation in Missouri’s economy.

The Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.

Map of the Month

Food Insecurity for Missouri’s Children

One of the most significant changes to daily life that we’ve seen from Missouri’s response to the Coronavirus is the closure of many public school systems. While no state-level order has been put into action, cities and counties from across Missouri have closed their doors and moved to online education. This, in turn, has brought the topic of childhood food insecurity to the forefront of many discussions across Missouri.

This web map, designed by the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS), illustrates the percentage of children, by county, who are faced with such a challenge. With schools now closed for an unknown amount of time, it is more important than ever to keep the reality of childhood hunger in mind.

Missouri childhood food insecurity

The Missouri Census Data Center frequently works with MSDIS on mapping and data projects. MSDIS is a spatial data retrieval and archival system offering many mapping resources, primarily focused on the state of Missouri.