Grundy County, Missouri

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 438 square miles (1,130 km²), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (0.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 10,261 people, 4,204 households, and 2,694 families residing in the county. The population density was 23.43 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 5,023 housing units at an average density of 11.47 per square mile (4.43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.94% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.53% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Approximately 1.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,204 households out of which 28.28% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.05% were married couples living together, 8.68% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.92% were non-families. 31.14% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.37% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.04% under the age of 18, 9.27% from 18 to 24, 20.29% from 25 to 44, 25.93% from 45 to 64, and 20.47% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females there were 91.22 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.03 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,239, and the median income for a family was $45,959. Males had a median income of $31,843 versus $25,231 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,148. About 10.2% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Grundy County is sometimes regarded as being on the northern edge of the Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the majority religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Grundy County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (49.86%), United Methodists (13.51%), and Disciples of Christ (6.95%).

Public schools

Private schools

Local

The Republican Party predominantly controls politics at the local level in Grundy County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.

State

All of Grundy County is a part of Missouri's 7th District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Mike Lair (R-Chillicothe).

All of Grundy County is a part of Missouri’s 12th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby).

Federal

All of Grundy County is included in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Graves is seeking a ninth term in 2016.

Grundy County, along with the rest of the entire state of Missouri, is represented in the U.S. Senate by Claire McCaskill (D-Kirkwood) and Roy Blunt (R-Strafford). McCaskill was elected to a second term in 2012.

Blunt was elected in 2010 over Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. He is seeking a second term in 2016.

Political culture

At the presidential level, Grundy County is reliably Republican. Like many of the rural counties throughout Missouri, Grundy County strongly favored Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012, and John McCain carried the county in 2008. George W. Bush carried the county easily in 2000 and 2004. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Grundy County in 1996 with a plurality of the vote, and a Democrat hasn't won majority support from the county's voters in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Like most rural areas throughout northern Missouri, voters in Grundy County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly won in Grundy County with 77% of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71% support from voters. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Grundy County with 55% voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51% of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Grundy County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Grundy County with 61% of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 79% voting in favor. (During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.)

2016

The 2016 presidential primaries for both the Republican and Democratic parties were held in Missouri on March 15. Businessman Donald Trump (R-New York) narrowly won the state overall, but received majority support in Grundy County.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-New York) won statewide by a slim margin, but Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) carried Grundy County.

2012

The 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary's results were nonbinding on the state's national convention delegates. Voters in Grundy County supported former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), who finished first in the state at large, but eventually lost the nomination to former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts). Delegates to the congressional district and state conventions were chosen at a county caucus, which selected delegations favoring U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas).

2008

In 2008, the Missouri Republican Presidential Primary was closely contested, with Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) prevailing and eventually winning the nomination.

Then-Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Grundy County during the 2008 presidential primary. Despite initial reports that Clinton had won Missouri, Barack Obama (D-Illinois), also a Senator at the time, narrowly defeated her statewide and later became that year's Democratic nominee, going on to win the presidency.

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Notable residents