Pulaski County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,955. Its county seat is Waynesville. The county was organized in 1833 and named for Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish patriot who died fighting in the American Revolution. Pulaski County is the site of Fort Leonard Wood, a U.S. Army training base. It comprises the Fort Leonard Wood, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area which has nearly one-third of the total county population.
History Pulaski County's earliest settlers were the Quapaw, Missouria and Osage Native Americans. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition of the early 19th century, white settlers came to the area, many from Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas; the earliest pioneers appeared to have settled as early as 1818, and the town of Waynesville was designated the county seat by the Missouri Legislature in 1833. Like the county, Waynesville is also named after an American Revolutionary hero, Mad Anthony Wayne.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water.
Adjacent counties Miller County (northwest) Maries County (northeast) Phelps County (east) Texas County (south) Laclede County (southwest) Camden County (west)
National protected area Mark Twain National Forest (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 53,955, and the median age was 27.3 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 9.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 134.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 144.4 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 71.5% White, 11.7% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.4% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 9.2% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.3% of the population. The redistricting data table below details the non-Hispanic counts for each race.
58.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 41.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 16,902 households in the county, of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 23.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 19,315 housing units, of which 12.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 53.5% were owner-occupied and 46.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%.
+Pulaski County, Missouri – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)34,45932,37731,20037,86335,86582.02%78.38%75.79%72.43%66.47%Black or African American alone (NH)4,5795,4934,8585,6806,03910.90%13.30%11.80%10.87%11.19%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3062513773523340.73%0.61%0.92%0.67%0.62%Asian alone (NH)8511,1449201,2951,7762.03%2.77%2.23%2.48%3.29%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census129292402xx0.31%0.56%0.75%Other race alone (NH)9789136752200.23%0.22%0.33%0.14%0.41%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census1,1412,0123,240xx2.77%3.85%6.01%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,7191,9532,4044,7056,0794.09%4.73%5.84%9.00%11.27%Total42,01141,30741,16552,27453,955 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 41,165 people, 13,433 households, and 9,953 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,408 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 78.35% White, 11.99% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 2.27% Asian, 0.32% Pacific Islander, 2.50% from other races, and 3.57% from two or more races. Approximately 5.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 13,433 households, out of which 42.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 21.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 16.60% from 18 to 24, 32.00% from 25 to 44, 15.90% from 45 to 64, and 7.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 112.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,247, and the median income for a family was $37,786. Males had a median income of $26,553 versus $20,500 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,586. About 8.00% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over. Transportation
Airport Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field serves the community with air service; even though it's on Fort Leonard Wood, it is jointly run by the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert and is available for civilian use by private pilots and scheduled commercial passenger service. The City of Richland also has an "Unmanned" Airport that consists of a 3000 ft runway.
Major highways
Media KFBD-FM and its AM sister station, KJPW, are the dominant news radio providers in the Pulaski County area, which includes Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, and St. Robert. These stations compete with the only other station broadcasting from Pulaski County, KFLW Radio, previously owned by the Lebanon Daily Record and working locally from the St. Robert offices of the now-closed Pulaski County Mirror, the weekly newspaper.
The weekly Dixon Pilot is privately owned by a former Dixon resident who now lives in Rolla. The Pulaski County Daily News internet newspaper is privately owned by a Waynesville resident. Allen Hilliard Sports internet sports website is privately owned by a St Robert resident.
Pulaski County historically had one daily and three weekly print newspapers, as well as an online internet daily newspaper. All but the weekly Dixon Pilot and the online Pulaski County Daily News are now closed. The county also has an internet discussion site, the Pulaski County Insider.
The Daily Guide, commonly known as the Waynesville Daily Guide, but based in St. Robert and serving the entire county, closed in September 2018. It was owned by GateHouse Media and was the central printing plant for three other GateHouse newspapers in nearby counties, the daily Camden Lake Sun Leader and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St. James Leader-Journal. The Rolla Daily News and the St. James weekly have since closed as well.
The content of the now-closed weekly Fort Leonard Wood Guidon was previously produced under the auspices of Army Public Affairs at Fort Leonard Wood but printed under contract by the Springfield News-Leader, a Gannett-owned newspaper which produced and sold advertisements in the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon. The military contract to produce the Guidon was held by the Lebanon Daily Record until the end of 2002, and before the Lebanon Daily Record had been held by the Waynesville Daily Guide for many years.
The weekly Pulaski County Mirror Pulaski County Mirror closed in February 2017 and had been owned by the Lebanon Daily Record, a family owned newspaper in an adjoining county. The paper is a merger of the Richland Mirror and Pulaski County Democrat in St. Robert, which were separate weekly papers owned by the Lebanon Daily Record until their owner merged them in 2009.
Education School districts include: - Text list
K-12: Crocker R-II School District Dixon R-I School District Laquey R-V School District Newburg R-II School District Plato R-V School District Richland R-IV School District Waynesville R-VI Schools
Elementary only: Gasconade C-4 School District Phelps County R-III School District Swedeborg R-III School District
School district details
Fort Leonard Wood is in Pulaski County and a high percentage of military personnel live off post in surrounding communities, especially St. Robert and Waynesville but also the farther-out cities of Richland, Crocker, and Dixon, and the unincorporated communities of Laquey, Swedeborg and Devil's Elbow, all of which have a lower housing cost than nearer housing in St. Robert and Waynesville. Military personnel assigned to training areas on the south end of the post sometimes choose to live in the unincorporated areas of Big Piney and Palace in Pulaski County, or the northern Texas County communities of Plato and Roby.
Seven main school districts are fully or partly within the borders of Pulaski County, not counting two small districts which are mostly within other counties and only have only a few dozen residents within Pulaski County. All seven school districts have a high percentage of Fort Leonard Wood military dependents, and over two-thirds of Waynesville students fall into that category.
The cities of Waynesville and St. Robert and the Fort Leonard Wood army installation, along with their surrounding rural areas running east to Devil's Elbow, are served by the Waynesville R-VI School District which is by far the largest in the county.
The cities of Richland, Crocker, and Dixon, along with their surrounding rural areas, are served by the Richland R-IV School District, the Crocker R-II School District and the Dixon R-I School District. The Richland and Dixon districts both extend into rural parts of adjacent counties.
The unincorporated communities of Laquey and Swedeborg are served by the Laquey R-V School District and the Swedeborg R-III School District.http://swedeborg.k12.mo.us Swedeborg is the county's last remaining K-8 district and most of its high school students attend Richland High School though some attend Crocker High School or Waynesville High School; all other districts serve students running from kindergarten through high school.
The areas south of Fort Leonard Wood, including the unincorporated Pulaski County communities of Big Piney and Palace, is served by the Plato R-V School District, which is based in the northern Texas County village of Plato but also includes parts of Pulaski, Laclede and Wright counties.
Public schools Crocker R-II School District – Crocker Crocker Elementary School (PK-06) Crocker High School (07-12) Dixon R-I School District – Dixon Dixon Elementary School (PK-05) Dixon Middle School (06-08) Dixon High School (09-12) Laquey R-V School District – Laquey Laquey Elementary School (PK-05) Laquey Middle School (06-08) Laquey High School (09-12) Swedeborg R-VIII School District – Swedeborg Swedeborg Elementary School (PK-08) Richland R-IV School District – Richland Richland Elementary School (K-06) Richland Junior High School (07-08) Richland High School (09-12) Waynesville R-VI School District – Waynesville Williams Early Childhood Center (PK) – Ft. Leonard Wood East Elementary School (K-05) - Waynesville Freedom Elementary School (K-05) – St. Robert Partridge Elementary School (K-05) – Ft. Leonard Wood Thayer Elementary School (K-05) – Ft. Leonard Wood Wood Elementary School (K-05) – Ft. Leonard Wood Waynesville Sixth Grade Center (06) — Waynesville Waynesville Middle School (07-08) — Waynesville Waynesville High School (09-12) — Waynesville
Private schools Maranatha Baptist Academy – St. Robert (K4-12) – Baptist Westside Christian Academy – Waynesville (K4-12) – Baptist
Public libraries Pulaski County Library
Communities Cities Crocker