By assessing the health of OHC Region residents, large-scale improvement plans can be created and implemented to assist residents in living high-quality, long lives. More than one million people live in the OHC Region, a number that has grown by approximately 13% in a decade. Compared to the State of Missouri, which has shown slow growth over the last decade, the OHC Region has has been one of the state’s fastest growing metro areas1. There are slightly more females living in the OHC Region. Just over half of residents live in areas defined as urban, while the other half are considered rural residents. Most living in the area claim a citizenship status of ‘native’, indicating they were born in the United States. Just over 20% of residents are under the age of 18 and just under 20% are over the age of 65. Three in ten families in the OHC Region have children. 

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Additional demographic nuances beyond age, sex, and rurality can impact the ability to live a long, healthy life. For example, race can have an impact on health status and outcomes, as evidenced by this assessment. The majority of residents (87.11%) identify as White, Non-Hispanic. Two percent of residents identify as Black, Non-Hispanic and over six percent identify as Non-Hispanic of another race. Just under five percent of OHC Region residents identify as Hispanic. It is important to note other areas where the community is diverse, such as the 17% of residents living with a disability and nearly 10% who are veterans.

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Endnotes

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1White, M.C., Population Trends in Missouri and Its Regions, May 2021, https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/ Extensiondata/Pub/pdf/miscpubs/mx0055.pdf