County Maps US

Howard County, Missouri

A county in Missouri, ranked 84 of 115 by population.

CountyFIPS 29089

Within Missouri
Howard County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Fayette, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
10,180
+26 (+0.3%) since 2020
Land area
463.8
square miles. A further 1.6% of the total area is water
Population density
21.9
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Fayette
Seat of county government.
Established
1816
209 years ago
Largest city
Fayette city
Population 2,848.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Howard County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Howard County, Missouri from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 758 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Howard County ranks

Position among the 115 counties of Missouri, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MissouriNationally
Population10,18084th of 1152,394th of 3,144
Land area463.8 sq mi93rd of 1152,217th of 3,144
Population density21.9 per sq mi77th of 1152,177th of 3,144
Median household income$65,93830th of 1151,551st of 3,143

Full data for Howard County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population10,180Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202010,154Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?10,149Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area463.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area7.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area471.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?21.9 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$65,938American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$159,400American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age39.0American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households3,585American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units4,374American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-24
90 births, 114 deaths
Net migration
+74
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Howard County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Cooper CountyMissouri24 mi17,136
Boone CountyMissouri22 mi191,746
Randolph CountyMissouri16 mi24,513
Saline CountyMissouri16 mi23,265
Chariton CountyMissouri13 mi7,377

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 115 counties of Missouri

Open the interactive Missouri county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.