Miller County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northern Ozarks region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 24,722. Its

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 ...

is Tuscumbia. The county was organized February 6, 1837, and named for John Miller, former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and

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 ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Moniteau County (north) * Cole County (northeast) * Osage County (northeast) * Maries County (east) * Pulaski County (south) * Camden County (southwest) * Morgan County (west)

Major highways

U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific an ...

* Route 17 * Route 42 * Route 52 * Route 87 * MO-134

Route 134 * MO-242

Route 242

Demographics

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 23,564 people, 9,284 households, and 6,443 families residing in the county. 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 11,263 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.99%

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 ...

, 0.28%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.46% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Approximately 0.98% of the population were

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. There were 9,284 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% 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, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.30% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,977, and the median income for a family was $36,770. Males had a median income of $26,225 versus $18,903 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 county was $15,144. About 10.80% of families and 14.20% 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 19.30% of those under age 18 and 14.70% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

Public schools

Eldon R-I School District
– Eldon **South Elementary School (PK-03) **Eldon Upper Elementary School (04-06) **Eldon Middle School (07-08) **Eldon High School (09-12)
Iberia R-V School District
–

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

**Iberia Elementary School (PK-06) **Iberia High School (07-12)
Miller County R-III School District
– Tuscumbia **Miller County Elementary School (K-08) **Tuscumbia High School (09-12)
School of the Osage
– Lake Ozark **Leland O. Mills Elementary School (PK-02) **Osage Upper Elementary School (03-05) **Osage Middle School (06-08) **Osage High School (09-12)
St. Elizabeth R-IV School District
– St. Elizabeth **St. Elizabeth Elementary School (K-06) **St. Elizabeth High School (07-12)

Private schools

*Lakeview Christian Academy – Lake Ozark (K-10) –

Nondenominational Christian Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligni ...

Our Lady of the Snows School
–

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

(K-08) –

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

*Eldon Montessori Children's House – Eldon (PK-K) – Nonsectarian
The King's Academy - Christ the King Lutheran School
– Lake Ozark (Preschool-8) –

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Public libraries

* Heartland Regional Library System

Communities

Cities and towns

* Bagnell * Brumley * Eldon (largest city) *

* Lake Ozark * Lakeside * Olean * Osage Beach * St. Elizabeth * Tuscumbia (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Atwell * Aurora Springs * Brays * Capps * Etterville *

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

* Hoecker *

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

* Keethtown * Marys Home * Pleasant Mount * Rocky Mount * Saint Anthony * Spring Garden * Ulman * Watkins * West Aurora

Government and Politics

Political culture

Like most counties in rural western Missouri, Miller County is very Republican. It hasn't supported a Democrat for president since

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1932. The only other time it supported a Democrat in the 20th century was in 1912, when

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

carried the county against a mortally divided GOP.

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

is the last Democrat to garner even 40 percent of the county's vote. Underlining how Republican the county has been over the years, it rejected native son

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1944 as Roosevelt's running mate, and when he headed the ticket himself in 1948.

Local

The Republican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Miller County. Republicans currently hold all of the elected positions in the county.

State

Gubernatorial

Missouri House of Representatives

Miller County is divided into four legislative districts in 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 ...

, all of which are represented by Republicans. *District 58 �
David Wood
(R-

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

). Consists of the city of Eldon. *District 59 �
Mike Bernskoetter
(R-

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

). Consists of the community of Olean. *District 62 �
Tom Hurst
(R-

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

). Consists of the community of St. Elizabeth. *District 124 �
Rocky Miller
(R- Lake Ozark). Consists of most of the county, including the communities of Bagnell, Brumley, Iberia, Kaiser, Lake Ozark, Lakeside, Osage Beach, Tuscumbia, and Ulman.

Missouri Senate

All of Miller County is a part of Missouri's 6th District in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

and is currently represented b
Mike Kehoe
(R-

Federal

US Senate

US House of Representatives

All of Miller County is included in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District and is currently represented by

Blaine Luetkemeyer William Blaine Luetkemeyer ( ; born May 7, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2025. On January 4, 2024, he declined to run for reelection to Congress. He previously represented from 2009 to 2 ...

(R- St. Elizabeth) in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Presidential

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

Former

Governor 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 ...

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

(R-

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

) received more votes, a total of 1,406, than any candidate from either party in Miller County during the 2008 presidential primary.

References

External links

from

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 ...

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books {{coord, 38.22, -92.43, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MO_source:UScensus1990 1837 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1837