Housing Units Built Before 1940 - Change from 1990 to 2000 by County and Region
In 1990 there were 447,757 housing units (20.4 percent of total housing units) still in existence that were built prior to 1940. By 2000 the number of housing units built before 1940 was down to 395,153, 16.3 percent of housing units in existence in 2000. Although the number of housing units built before 1940 declined in 90 of the 115 counties from 1990 to 2000, there were 25 counties in which the number of housing units in use built before 1940 increased. It can be concluded that the increase was at least partially a result of owners deciding to remodel older homes and bring them back to occupancy.
There was a wide range of variation among the counties in both 1990 and 2000 in the proportion of total housing units built before 1940. In 1990 only 3.5 percent of Camden County housing units were built before 1940, the lowest in Missouri. At the other extreme, 55.7 percent of housing units in St.Louis City were built before 1940. By 2000 Camden County and St. Louis City were still the lowest and highest in proportion of housing units built before 1940 - 1.9 percent in Camden County and 48.5 percent in St. Louis City.
Counties with the Highest Proportion of Older Housing
| Map 1 click map for larger version 
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As reported in Table 1 and displayed on Map 1 the highest proportion of housing units built prior to 1940 is found among counties throughout north Missouri. Most of the counties in that region reached their peak of population in 1900 and, correspondingly, there was a substantial amount of housing stock throughout the region at the turn of the century. New construction continued throughout the first 40 years of the 20th century. It can also be concluded that housing construction in north Missouri was relatively more durable than some other rural areas of the state.
A relatively large proportion of older houses remain in use throughout the north region because there has been relatively less new housing construction in rural north Missouri than other regions. Population has declined every decade since the turn of the century throughout the north region. As shown on Map 1, there were 22 counties in 2000 in which more than 30 percent of housing units were built before 1940. Of those, 22 counties 20 are located in north Missouri. The only two counties having more than 30 percent of pre-1940 housing units not located in the north regions are Dade County in Southwest Missouri and St. Louis City.
Counties with the Lowest Proportion of Older Housing
Table 1 and Map 1 show that there are 23 counties in which fewer than 10 percent of housing units were constructed prior to 1940. Generally, these counties fall into one of four categories: (1) Counties whose population grew rapidly as a result of becoming suburban counties of larger cities. Included in this category are Cass, Clay and Platte in the Kansas City metro area; Jefferson, St. Louis, Warren and St. Charles Counties in the St. Louis metro area; and Christian County in the Springfield metro area. (2) Counties that included towns that gained population as they emerged as regional trade centers. Included in this category are Boone, Butler, Phelps, Pulaski and Laclede Counties. (3) Counties that grew rapidly as a result of lake and tourism development. Included in this category are Benton, Camden, Morgan, Stone and Taney Counties. (4) Relatively low income, limited resource counties in southern Missouri that never attracted significant population increase. Included in this category are Carter, Wayne, Ripley, Washington, New Madrid and Hickory.
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OSEDA Regional Grouping of Counties Many demographic factors vary by region within the state of Missouri. For the convenience of our user community, OSEDA prepares tables using three different regional groupings of counties: Extension, Economic Development and Transportation. For each of these groupings, one table summarizes the indicators by regional total and a second table shows values for each county grouped by region. Users may select the county grouping most helpful for their application and understanding. |
Housing Constructed Prior to 1940 By County and By Region
Housing Units Constructed Prior to 1940 by University of Missouri Extension Regions
The greatest decline between 1990 and 2000 in number of housing units constructed prior to 1940 occurred in the East Central Region (St. Louis) with a decline of 25,000 units (-14.6 percent) and in the West Central Region (Kansas City) with a decline of 11,893 (-13.3 percent). Those two regions accounted for 71.5 percent of the state's decline in pre-1940 housing units during the 1990s. There was virtually no change in number of pre-1940 housing units in the South Central Region that declined only from 18,553 in 1990 to 18,358 in 2000 - a decline of 1.1 percent.
By far, the largest proportion of houses constructed prior to 1940 is found in the Northwest and Northeast Regions with 31.0 percent and 28.8 percent respectively that are still in use. There is relatively little difference in the proportion of pre-1940 houses still in use among the remaining six regions varying only between 10.4 percent in the South Central Region and 16.8 percent in the East Central Region.
Housing Units Constructed Prior to 1940 by Missouri Department of Transportation Districts
The greatest decline between 1990 and 2000 in number of housing units constructed prior to 1940 occurred in the St. Louis District with a decline of 25,000 units (-14.6 percent) and in the Kansas City District with a decline of 11,453 (-13.6 percent). Those two regions accounted for 70.1 percent of the state's decline in pre-1940 housing units during the 1990s. There was virtually no change in number of pre-1940 housing units in the Willow Springs District that actually had a small increase, from 12,375 in 1990 to 12,543 in 2000 - an increase of 1.4 percent.
By far, the largest proportion of houses constructed prior to 1940 is found in the St. Joseph and Macon Districts with 31.3 percent and 28.3 percent respectively that are still in use. The Hannibal and Joplin Districts also had more than the state average of pre-1940 housing units in use in 2000 with 22.5 percent and 19.8 percent respectively. There is relatively little difference in the proportion of pre-1940 houses still in use among the remaining six districts varying only between 10.6 percent in the Springfield District to South Central Region and 17.2 percent in the St. Louis District.
Housing Units Constructed Prior to 1940 by Missouri Department of Economic Development Regions
The greatest decline between 1990 and 2000 in number of housing units constructed prior to 1940 occurred in the St. Louis MSA with a decline of 25,472 units (-15.1 percent) and in the Kansas City MSA with a decline of 10,741 (-13.3 percent). Those two regions accounted for 68.8 percent of the state's decline in pre-1940 housing units during the 1990s. There was virtually no change in number of pre-1940 housing units in the South Central Region that actually had a small increase, from 7,590 in 1990 to 7,610 in 2000 - an increase of 0.3 percent.
By far, the largest proportion of houses constructed prior to 1940 is found in the Northwest, North Central and Northeast Regions with 32.0 percent, 31.1 percent and 28.5 percent respectively that are still in use. The only other region with a proportion of pre-1940 housing units above the state average is the Southwest Region with 19.5 percent. There was also one region, Lake of the Ozarks - Rolla, which had a significantly smaller percentage of pre-1940 housing units still in use (7.8 percent). That is attributable to a significant amount of new construction in the Lake of the Ozarks area during the past two decades. Many of those new housing units are also utilized on a seasonal basis.
The remaining eight regions had relatively similar levels of pre-1940 housing units being used in 2000. Aside from the regions described above, the remaining eight regions vary from 10.4 percent of pre-1940 housing (Springfield-Branson) in 2000 to 17.7 percent in the West Central Region.
Additional tables are attached which report Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000, by State and County 1990-2000 for three different sets of regions: eight University of Missouri Extension regions; 10 Missouri Department of Transportation regions; and 13 Missouri Department of Economic Development regions.
| Detailed Tables about Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000, by State and County 1990-2000 | ||
| The following links provide detailed tables of Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000, by State and County 1990-2000. They are in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (PDF) formats. | ||
| All Missouri Counties | ||
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 | HTML | |
| Regional Tables | ||
| UO/E Regions | ||
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By County Within UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| DED Regions | ||
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By DED Region | HTML | |
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By County Within DED Region | HTML | |
| MoDOT Regions | ||
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By DOT District | HTML | |
| Housing Unit Structures Built Before 1940, 1990-2000 - By County Within DOT District | HTML | |
This file last modified Thursday May 07, 2009, 16:06:22
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