County Data for Greene County, Missouri
Greene County is a county located in Southwest Missouri. As of 2000, the population was 240,391. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the county's population to be 266,944 making it the fifth most populated county in Missouri. Its county seat is Springfield. The county was organized in 1833 and is named after American Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene.
Greene County is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 678 square miles (1,755 km²), of which, 675 square miles (1,748 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0. 42%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Education
Public schools
Private schools
Alternative/Other Schools
Colleges & Universities
Transportation
Major highways
Airports
Recreation
National protected area
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 240,391 people, 97,859 households, and 61,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 356 people per square mile (138/km²). There were 104,517 housing units at an average density of 155 per square mile (60/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93. 54% White, 2. 26% Black or African American, 0. 66% Native American, 1. 13% Asian, 0. 06% Pacific Islander, 0. 67% from other races, and 1. 68% from two or more races. Approximately 1. 84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 97,859 households out of which 28. 30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50. 00% were married couples living together, 9. 80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36. 80% were non-families. 29. 10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2. 34 and the average family size was 2. 89.
In the county the population was spread out with 22. 30% under the age of 18, 13. 80% from 18 to 24, 28. 60% from 25 to 44, 21. 80% from 45 to 64, and 13. 60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94. 40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91. 20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,185, and the median income for a family was $56,047. Males had a median income of $30,672 versus $21,987 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,770. About 7. 60% of families and 12. 10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13. 60% of those under age 18 and 7. 50% of those age 65 or over.
There are 190,417 registered voters in Greene County.
In 2010 Greene County was ranked number 88 on The Daily Caller's list of American's 100 most conservative-friendly counties.
Cities and towns
Fire departments and districts
Republic and Springfield have city fire departments. Additionally, the county is served by the following fire districts:
Famous people
See List of People from Springfield, Missouri
Politics
Local
Politics at the local level in Greene County is predominantly controlled by the Republican Party. In fact, all but one of Greene County's elected officeholders are Republicans.
{| class=wikitable
! Office !! Incumbent !! Party
|-
| Assessor
| Rick Kessinger
| Republican
|-
| Cindy S. Stein
| Susan G. Yarnell
| Republican
|-
| Circuit Clerk
| Steve Helms
| Republican
|-
| Clerk
| Richard T. Struckhoff
| Republican
|-
| Collector
| Scott Payne
| Republican
|-
| Commissioner – District 1
| Harold Bengsch
| Republican
|-
| Commissioner – District 2
| Roseann Bentley
| Republican
|-
| Presiding Commissioner
| David L. (Dave) Coonrod
| Democratic
|-
| Prosecuting Attorney
| Darrell L. Moore
| Republican
|-
| Public Administrator
| David Yancey
| Republican
|-
| Recorder
| Linda S. Montgomery
| Republican
|-
| Sheriff
| Jim Arnott
| Republican
|-
| Treasurer
| John R. Hoffman
| Republican
|}
State
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+ Past Gubernatorial Elections Results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! Republican
! Democratic
! Third Parties
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|2008
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|42. 84% 57,565
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|54. 45% 73,164
|align="center" |2. 71% 3,641
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2004
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|61. 45% 76,645
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|37. 25% 46,470
|align="center" |1. 30% 1,621
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2000
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|53. 57% 54,770
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|44. 61% 45,612
|align="center" |1. 82% 1,861
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|1996
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|51. 63% 49,991
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|45. 08% 43,646
|align="center" |3. 29% 3,189
|}
Greene County is divided into eight legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives with six seats being held by Republicans and two being held by Democrats.
Greene County is also divided into two districts in the Missouri Senate, both represented by Republicans.
In Missouri's gubernatorial election of 2008, Governor Jay Nixon (D) defeated former U. S. Representative Kenny Hulshof (R) with 58. 40 percent of the total statewide vote. Nixon performed extremely well and won many of the counties in the state, including the conservative Republican stronghold Greene County. The former attorney general Nixon carried Greene County by a hefty 11-point margin, 54. 45-42. 84%.
Federal
In the U. S. House of Representatives, Greene County is a part of Missouri's 7th Congressional District and is currently represented by Roy Blunt (R-Springfield).
Political culture
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+ Past Presidential Elections Results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! Republican
! Democratic
! Third Parties
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2008
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|57. 06% 77,683
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41. 26% 56,181
|align="center" |1. 68% 2,283
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2004
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|62. 18% 77,885
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|37. 25% 46,657
|align="center" |0. 58% 724
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|2000
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|57. 50% 59,178
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|39. 92% 41,091
|align="center" |2. 58% 2,657
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|1996
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|49. 60% 48,193
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|40. 45% 39,300
|align="center" |9. 95% 9,671
|}
Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Greene County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. Although the county contains the urban Springfield and Missouri State University, the county is located in the heart of the Bible Belt where voters tend to be very socially conservative and therefore more amendable to voting Republican. George W. Bush carried Greene County in 2000 and 2004 by almost two-to-one margins, and like many other counties throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, Greene County favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win Greene County was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Like most areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Greene County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly passed Greene County with 72. 04 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban same-sex marriage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it narrowly failed in Greene County with 51. 62 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Greene County’s longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6. 50 an hour—it passed Greene County with 74. 41 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78. 99 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6. 50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.
2008 Missouri Presidential Primary
Republican
Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) won Greene County with 42. 48 percent of the vote. U. S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) finished in second place in Greene County with 27. 09 percent. Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) came in a not-so-distant third place, receiving 25. 17 percent of the vote while libertarian-leaning U. S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) finished fourth with 4. 21 percent in Greene County.
Huckabee slightly led Missouri throughout much of the evening until the precincts began reporting from St. Louis where McCain won and put him over the top of Huckabee. In the end, McCain received 32. 95 percent of the vote to Huckabee’s 31. 53 percent—a 1. 42 percent difference. McCain received all of Missouri’s 58 delegates as the Republican Party utilizes the winner-take-all system.
Democratic
Former U. S. Senator and now Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) won Greene County over now President Barack Obama (D-Illinois) with 54. 94 percent of the vote while Obama received 42. 77 percent of the vote. Although he withdrew from the race, former U. S. Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) still received 1. 84 percent of the vote in Greene County.
Clinton had a large initial lead in Missouri at the beginning of the evening as the rural precincts began to report, leading several news organizations to call the state for her; however, Obama rallied from behind as the heavily African American precincts from St. Louis began to report and eventually put him over the top. In the end, Obama received 49. 32 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 47. 90 percent—a 1. 42 percent difference. Both candidates split Missouri’s 72 delegates as the Democratic Party utilizes proportional representation.
Clinton received more votes, a total of 18,322, than any candidate from either party in Greene County during the 2008 Missouri Presidential Primaries, in this conservative Republican (and urbanized) stronghold.
Land for sale in Greene County, Missouri
This county information was provided courtesy of Wikipedia
