Ripley County, Missouri

Ripley County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 13,509. Its is. The county was organized in and named for Gen., hero of the. Its area encompassed what would later become Oregon, Howell, Shannon and Carter counties. The historic Natchitoches Trail passes through Ripley County. It was an Indian trail and an early route to the Southwest, used by pioneers like Stephen Austin. Although a no-man's land during the American Civil War, the county was pro-south and provided four colonels for the Confederate cause. Today's tourist areas include and the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,636 (632 ). 1,630 km² (629 sq mi) of it is land and 6 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.35%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 13,509 people, 5,416 households, and 3,845 families residing in the county. The was 8/km² (22/sq mi). There were 6,392 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (10/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.17%, 0.04% or , 1.33% , 0.22% , 0.01% , 0.05% from , and 1.17% from two or more races. 0.98% of the population were or  of any race. 34.1% were of, 14.0% , 11.6% and 10.7%  ancestry according to.

There were 5,416 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,761, and the median income for a family was $27,799. Males had a median income of $22,056 versus $17,823 for females. The for the county was $12,889. About 16.90% of families and 22.00% of the population were below the, including 27.00% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over.