Stoddard County, Missouri

Stoddard County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population was 29,705. Its is. The county was organized in, and is named for , the first territorial of.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,147 (829 ). 2,142 km² (827 sq mi) of it is land and 5 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.22%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * &  (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 29,705 people, 12,064 households, and 8,480 families residing in the county. The was 14/km² (36/sq mi). There were 13,221 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (16/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.34%, 0.91% or , 0.40% , 0.09% , 0.01% , 0.24% from , and 1.01% from two or more races. 0.78% of the population were or  of any race. 38.4% were of, 15.4% , 12.4% and 8.5%  ancestry according to.

There were 12,064 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,987, and the median income for a family was $33,330. Males had a median income of $26,514 versus $17,778 for females. The for the county was $14,656. About 12.80% of families and 16.50% of the population were below the, including 20.20% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.

History
First settled in, early Stoddard was territory. When 1,029 Europeans lost their lives in the massacre of Little Dixie in the colonization of Stoddard was postponed for 24 years.

Unlocking the Past by Madeline DeJournett and Elfreda Cox was published in May 2007. The authors are staff writers for the Daily Statesman  newspaper, which published the book. The book includes the historical background of more than a dozen abandoned towns in north Stoddard County.

In the mid-late 1990s, Stoddard County was one of the worst areas in the entire country for clandestine methamphetamine laboratory busts, with hundreds of labs discovered annually. At the height of the drug problem (circa 1998), the county was #1 in the nation for the number of labs reported.