Lebanon is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Laclede County in
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.
The population was estimated at 15,013 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Laclede County.
The Lebanon
Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Laclede County.
History
Lebanon was founded in 1849. The community was named after
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...
, the former home of many of the first settlers.
Lebanon had many motels for travelers along
Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
.
The
Ralph E. Burley House,
Joe Knight Building,
Laclede County Jail,
Ploger-Moneymaker Place, and
Wallace House are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Lebanon is along
I-44, and
Routes 5,
32, and
64 as well as the
historic Route 66.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
The
2020 United States census counted 15,013 people, 6,053 households, and 3,784 families in Lebanon. The population density was . There were 6,729 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 89.38% (13,418)
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.36% (204)
black or African-American, 0.58% (87)
Native American, 0.82% (123)
Asian, 0.05% (8)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.16% (174) from
other races, and 6.65% (999) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race was 4.7% (696) of the population.
Of the 6,053 households, 36.8% had children under the age of 18; 42.8% were married couples living together; 34.1% had a female householder with no husband present. Of all households, 31.3% consisted of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.0.
26.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 89.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 82.0 males.
The 2016-2020 5-year
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates show that the median household income was $41,160 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,834) and the median family income was $55,330 (+/- $5,167). Males had a median income of $35,720 (+/- $3,968) versus $22,032 (+/- $3,611) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $30,181 (+/- $3,901). Approximately, 16.2% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 22.0% of those under the age of 18 and 18.5% of those ages 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 14,474 people, 5,980 households, and 3,745 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 6,728 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.3%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.6%
Native American, 0.7%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.7% from
other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 5,980 households, of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.4% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% 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.
The median age in the city was 35.4 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 12,155 people, 5,132 households, and 3,181 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 5,745 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.99%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.90%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.54%
Native American, 0.50%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.42% from
other races, and 1.61% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.
There were 5,132 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,668, and the median income for a family was $36,509. Males had a median income of $27,657 versus $17,509 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,636. About 12.3% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education in Lebanon is administered by Lebanon R-III School District, which operates Lebanon High School.
The Lebanon Senior High School Girls Wrestling Team is notable for winning the inaugural
MSHSAA State Girls Wrestling Championship in 2019, the first 1st place title in the school's history.
Lebanon has a
public library
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
, the Lebanon–Laclede County Library.
Notable people
*
Richard P. Bland —
congressman
A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
from the state of Missouri
*
Jim Bohannon — radio news and talk show host
*
Ernest R. Breech — business executive
*
Justin Britt — lineman for
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
*
Cynthia Coffman — 38th
Attorney General of Colorado
The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. State of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a fou ...
*
Phil M. Donnelly — 41st and 43rd
governor of Missouri
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
*
Michael S. Hopkins — NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel
*
Jeff Knight — member of the
Missouri House of Representatives
The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...
*
Antoine Predock
Antoine Samuel Predock ( ; June 24, 1936 – March 2, 2024) was an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC, the studio he founded in 1967.
Predock first gained national attention ...
— architect and designer
*
Jerry Schoonmaker — baseball player for the
Washington Senators
*
William Tecumseh Vernon — educator, minister and bishop
*
Betty Wagoner — professional baseball player for the
South Bend Blue Sox
The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix F ...
*
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed". Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwrigh ...
— playwright and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama
*
Harold Bell Wright — author
*
David Gregory Kays - Federal Judge
*
Dean Whipple- Federal Judge
See also
*
Lebanon I-44 Speedway
References
External links
City of LebanonLebanon Area Chamber of Commerce* Historic maps of Lebanon in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collectionat the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
{{authority control
1849 establishments in Missouri
Cities in Laclede County, Missouri
Cities in Missouri
County seats in Missouri
Populated places established in 1849