South Central Region

The economic growth of the South Central Region is generally keeping pace with the economic growth of Missouri as a whole, but other factors indicate that this region is still slightly behind the rest of the state. Howell County has seen substantial progress during the last ten years, while other areas have seen average or below average growth. The population has grown a considerable 11.1% in the South Central Region since 1990, compared to 9.1% growth for the state. The poverty rate for this area is 20.3%, much higher than the 11.8% for the state as a whole. The unemployment rate during 2002 for the South Central Region was 7.0%, much higher than the state's average of 5.5%. The growth in personal income and per capita income in the South Central Region over the past decade is just below the growth of the state as a whole. Per capita income in the region was $16,994 during 2001, the least for any region. This compares with $28,221 for the state.

Some of the large employers in this region include:

Bruce Hardwood Flooring
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc
Douglas County R-I School District
Emerson Motor Division
Gainesville R-V School District
Houston R-I Schools
Howell County R-IV School District
Hutchens Industries, Inc.
Lee's Curtain Co., Inc.
Marathon Electric
Mountain View Fabricating
Ozarks Medical Center
Paramount Headwear, Inc.
Rawlings Sporting Goods
Robertshaw Controls
Systems and Electronics, Inc.
Texas County Memorial Hospital
Wal-Mart Associates, Inc

South Central Region Population
	2000 Population	2000 Population Density	1990 Population	1999 Population	Change 1990-2000	Change 1999-2000
Douglas	13,084	16.1	11,899	12,421	10.0%	5.3%
Howell	37,238	40.1	31,601	36,070	17.8%	3.2%
Oregon	10,344	13.1	9,485	10,295	9.1%	0.5%
Ozark	9,542	12.6	8,640	9,970	10.4%	-4.3%
Shannon	8,324	8.3	7,607	8,298	9.4%	0.3%
Texas	23,003	19.5	21,483	22,470	7.1%	2.4%
Wright	17,955	26.3	16,816	19,934	6.8%	-9.9%
Region Total	119,490	19.4	107,531	119,458	11.1%	0.0%

1999 South Central Region Demographics
	Females	Males	Population Age < 25	Population Age 25-44	Population Age > 44	1997 Pop. In Poverty
Douglas	6,279	6,142	4,000	2,969	5,452	2,704
Howell	18,999	17,071	12,158	9,134	14,778	7,022
Oregon	5,250	5,045	3,057	2,304	4,934	2,443
Ozark	4,969	5,001	2,764	2,204	5,002	2,128
Shannon	4,223	4,075	2,767	2,101	3,430	2,122
Texas	11,692	10,778	7,451	5,718	9,301	4,665
Wright	10,545	9,389	6,958	4,751	8,225	4,043
Region Total	61,958	57,500	39,155	29,181	51,122	25,127
Percent	51.9%	48.1%	32.8%	24.4%	42.8%	22.0%

2000 South Central Region Demographics
	White	Black	Asian	Other	Hispanic
Douglas	12,673	14	28	148	110
Howell	35,902	114	134	481	450
Oregon	9,786	10	14	307	113
Ozark	9,310	14	8	80	90
Shannon	7,912	14	4	170	77
Texas	22,190	49	78	269	221
Wright	17,526	50	25	167	139
Region Total	115,299	265	291	1,622	1,200
Percent	96.5%	0.2%	0.2%	1.4%	1.0%

Source: US Census Bureau

2002 South Central Region Employment Statistics
	Labor Force	Employment	Unemployment	Unemployment Rate
Douglas	5,355	4,737	618	11.5%
Howell	17,948	17,019	929	5.2%
Oregon	4,349	4,138	211	4.9%
Ozark	4,237	3,963	274	6.5%
Shannon	4,011	3,736	275	6.9%
Texas	9,326	8,613	713	7.6%
Wright	7,047	6,407	640	9.1%
Region Total	52,273	48,613	3,660	7.0%

Source: 2002 Current Employment Statistics

2001 South Central Region Industry Employment
	Natural Resources & Mining	Const.	Manu.	Trade, Trans. & Utilities	Info.	Financial Activities	Prof. & Business Services	Education & Health Services	Leisure & Hospitality	Other Services	Govt
Douglas	34	49	0	481	29	80	23	206	130	49	529
Howell	71	397	3,618	2,986	331	489	573	2,489	1,255	311	2,328
Oregon	20	27	404	547	29	132	44	267	114	20	531
Ozark	14	36	209	355	15	93	19	121	210	29	510
Shannon	20	10	756	209	0	90	0	93	123	54	504
Texas	58	154	1,154	1,432	57	277	92	523	288	89	1,931
Wright	15	136	693	1,258	48	169	122	393	348	126	1,008
Region Total	232	807	6,834	7,268	509	1,330	871	4,091	2,468	678	7,341
Percent	0.7%	2.5%	21.1%	22.4%	1.6%	4.1%	2.7%	12.6%	7.6%	2.1%	22.6%

Source: 2001 ES 202, NAICS supersectors

2001 Number of South Central Region Establishments by Size
Employees	1-4	5-9	10-19	20-49	50-99	100-249	250-499	500-999	1000+	County Total
Douglas	130	30	16	13	6	1	1	0	0	197
Howell	556	204	124	81	20	13	3	2	1	1,004
Oregon	135	48	14	16	6	0	0	0	0	219
Ozark	111	35	13	7	5	0	0	0	0	171
Shannon	91	23	19	2	2	3	0	0	0	140
Texas	310	77	54	27	9	3	3	1	0	484
Wright	220	83	45	26	7	5	1	0	0	387
Region Total	1,553	500	285	172	55	25	8	3	1	2,602
Percent	59.7%	19.2%	11.0%	6.6%	2.1%	1.0%	0.3%	0.1%	0.0%	100.0%

Source: 2001 US Census Bureau

South Central Region Farms
	1992	1997	% Change
Douglas	1,187	1,206	1.6%
Howell	1,706	1,637	-4.0%
Oregon	791	798	0.9%
Ozark	802	781	-2.6%
Shannon	424	470	10.8%
Texas	1,536	1,478	-3.8%
Wright	1,330	1,331	0.1%
Region Total	7,776	7,701	-1.0%

South Central Region Personal Income ($000)
	1991	2000	2001	% Change 1991-2001	% Change 2000-2001
Douglas	$121,510	$204,403	$211,095	73.7%	3.3%
Howell	$407,931	$693,621	$724,068	77.5%	4.4%
Oregon	$103,755	$160,365	$163,988	58.1%	2.3%
Ozark	$102,821	$152,607	$156,889	52.6%	2.8%
Shannon	$80,619	$130,052	$129,909	61.1%	-0.1%
Texas	$240,090	$364,020	$372,064	55.0%	2.2%
Wright	$185,911	$293,645	$293,487	57.9%	-0.1%
Region Total	$1,242,637	$1,998,713	$2,051,500	65.1%	2.6%

South Central Region Per Capita Personal Income
	1991	2000	2001	% Change 1991-2001	% Change 2000-2001
Douglas	$10,163	$15,604	$16,027	57.7%	2.7%
Howell	$12,661	$18,629	$19,483	53.9%	4.6%
Oregon	$10,887	$15,541	$15,980	46.8%	2.8%
Ozark	$11,927	$16,007	$16,630	39.4%	3.9%
Shannon	$10,574	$15,626	$15,543	47.0%	-0.5%
Texas	$11,000	$15,823	$15,260	38.7%	-3.6%
Wright	$11,151	$16,342	$16,349	46.6%	0.0%
Region Total	$11,458	$16,728	$16,994	48.3%	1.6%