The 2020 census counted 201 people in Rocheport. That is 38 fewer than in 2010, a drop of 15.9 percent, during a decade when Boone County as a whole grew by nearly 13 percent. The town is older than it was ten years earlier, and more of its houses were empty on census day.
Here is what the count found, drawn from the Census Bureau’s published tables. The table number for each figure is listed at the end.
Fewer people, and a long slide
Rocheport’s population was 239 in 2010 and 201 in 2020. Over the same ten years Boone County went from 162,642 to 183,610 people, up 12.9 percent, and Missouri grew 2.8 percent.
The longer record shows a town that has been getting smaller for more than a century. Census reports put Rocheport at 631 people in 1890 and 593 in 1900. The count fell to 434 by 1910, held in the 450s through 1930, was 396 in 1940 and 375 in 1960, and dropped to 307 in 1970, 272 in 1980 and 255 in 1990. The 2000 count was 208. The 2010 census showed a rare rise, to 239, and the 2020 count of 201 is the lowest on record since at least 1890. Our bicentennial history of the town tells how the river trade and then the railroad came and went.
Houses: fewer occupied, more empty
The census counted 120 housing units in town in 2020, down from 128 in 2010. Of those 120, 100 were occupied and 20 were vacant. In 2010 only 7 were vacant.
A vacant unit is not necessarily an abandoned one. Of the 20 empty units in 2020, 8 were classed as held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, which includes weekend places and second homes. Four were for rent, 2 had been sold but no one had moved in yet, and 6 fell into the census’s catch-all “other vacant” group. That seasonal share, 6.7 percent of all housing in town, is far above Boone County’s 0.6 percent and Missouri’s 2.7 percent. The census does not ask whether a house is used as a short-term rental, so these figures cannot say how many are.
Of the 100 occupied homes, 66 were lived in by their owners and 34 by renters. In 2010 the split was 77 owners and 44 renters. The average household held two people.
An older town than its county
Rocheport’s median age in 2020 was 47.9 years. Boone County, home to the University of Missouri, had a median of 31.9, and Missouri’s was 39.0. Rocheport’s median was 49.3 in 2010, so by that one measure the town did not get older.
The share of older residents did rise. In 2020, 61 residents, or 30.3 percent, were 65 or older, up from 50 people, or 20.9 percent, in 2010. That compares with 13.2 percent in Boone County and 17.5 percent statewide. The count found 31 residents under 18.
Four in ten Rocheport households, 40 of 100, included someone 65 or older. Thirty-six residents lived alone, and 16 of them were 65 or older.
Race and ethnicity
Of the 201 residents counted, 185 identified as white alone, 11 as two or more races, 2 as Black or African American alone, 2 as Asian alone and 1 as some other race alone. Two residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, a group the census counts separately from race. By share, 92.0 percent of Rocheport residents were white alone, against 76.2 percent in Boone County and 77.0 percent in Missouri.
The Census Bureau changed how it asked and coded the race questions in 2020, so it cautions against reading much into direct comparisons with 2010 by race. With numbers this small, a single family moving in or out would move the percentages noticeably.
At a glance
| Rocheport | Boone County | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population, 2020 | 201 | 183,610 | 6,154,913 |
| Change since 2010 | -15.9% | +12.9% | +2.8% |
| Median age | 47.9 | 31.9 | 39.0 |
| Age 65 and older | 30.3% | 13.2% | 17.5% |
| Housing units vacant | 16.7% | 8.0% | 11.0% |
| Occupied homes owned | 66.0% | 54.2% | 66.0% |
A caution about small numbers
For 2020, the Census Bureau adopted a privacy method called differential privacy. It adds a controlled amount of statistical noise to published figures so that no individual can be picked out of the tables. The bureau publishes each block’s count of housing units as counted, but the population count and the details on age, race and households for a town of 200 carry some of that noise. It can show up as small inconsistencies. In Rocheport’s profile table, for example, the number of householders comes out one higher than the number of households, which cannot be true in reality. Treat any single figure here as accurate to within a few people, and avoid reading much into differences of one or two.
What the survey estimates say
The 2020 census does not ask about income, home values or schooling. For those, the Census Bureau runs the American Community Survey, which samples a small share of households every year and pools five years of answers. These are estimates, not counts. For a place Rocheport’s size the margins of error are wide, so they are reported separately here and should be read loosely.
For 2020 through 2024, the survey puts Rocheport’s median household income at $57,083, plus or minus $28,008. That means the true figure could plausibly be anywhere from about $29,000 to $85,000. Boone County’s estimate is $72,758, plus or minus $1,612. The median value of an owner-occupied home in town is estimated at $223,300, plus or minus $37,564, and 41.0 percent of adults 25 and older are estimated to hold at least a bachelor’s degree, plus or minus 10.7 points.
The survey’s own estimate of Rocheport’s population, 231 plus or minus 82, shows how loose these small-town figures are. It sits comfortably around the 2020 count of 201 without confirming or contradicting it. The next full count is the 2030 census.
If you are visiting rather than moving here, our visitor’s guide covers the town as it stands today. The state’s recent look at what the Katy Trail is worth to towns like ours offers another way of measuring Rocheport.
Sources
- 2020 population, age, race, Hispanic origin, households, housing occupancy, vacancy and tenure: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Demographic Profile, table DP1. Population and occupancy totals match the 2020 Redistricting Data, tables P1, P2 and H1.
- 2010 population, median age, age 65 and older, housing, vacancy and tenure: 2010 Census Summary File 1, tables P1, P12, P13, H3, H4 and H5.
- 2000 population: 2000 Census Summary File 1, table P001.
- 1890 and 1900: Twelfth Census of the United States, Census Bulletin No. 32, Population of Missouri. 1910 through 1990: Missouri Census Data Center, Missouri Population 1900-1990, compiled from decennial census reports.
- Income, home value, education and population estimates: American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, tables DP03, DP04, DP02 and DP05. Margins of error are at the 90 percent confidence level.
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