Southwest Missouri led the way as Missouri's population increased by 9.3 percent during the 1990s, according to Missouri figures from the 2000 census released Thursday.
The three-county area centered on Branson Stone, Taney and Christian counties were Missouri's fastest growing as all increased more than 50 percent from 1990.
Christian County, between Springfield and country music center Branson, had the state's greatest percentage increase at 66.3 percent, from 32,644 in 1990 to 54,285 in 2000.
Taney County was up 55.3 percent and Stone County 50.2 percent, making them the second- and third-fastest growing Missouri counties.
The other big story of the 2000 census was the growth in Missouri's Hispanic population, which almost doubled during the decade, to 118,592 from 61,702 in 1990. Hispanics made up 2.1 percent of Missouri's population in 2000, and increased dramatically in the southwest.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.