Barton County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,402. Its county seat is Lamar. The county was organized in 1855 and named after U.S. Senator David Barton from Missouri. President Harry S. Truman was born in Barton County in 1884. The female bandit, Little Britches, was born in Barton County in 1879.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,541 people, 4,895 households, and 3,441 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile. There were 5,409 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96.93% White, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,895 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couplesliving together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,275, and the median income for a family was $35,638. Males had a median income of $25,254 versus $19,663 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,987. About 11.00% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.90% of those under age 18 and 16.80% of those age 65 or over.
All of Barton County is included in Missouri's 4th Congressional District and is represented by Vicky Hartzler in the U.S. House of Representatives. Barton County is overwhelmingly Republican in presidential elections. The last Democratic candidate to carry Barton County was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Most recently in 2016, the county vote for Donald J. Trump by a margin of 70.4 percentage points.
