Adair County Economic Profile

Understanding the economic background of the electorate is an integral part of a campaign in any region.  The businesses present in the region include not only a large number of voters, but also monied interests that can bolster or smother any campaign.

  Adair County, part of Missouri’s 9th District, is a rural county that is both poorer and less racially diverse than Missouri as a whole.


Common jobs data for Adair County is included in nonmetropolitan North Missouri data, where these top five occupations account for almost 55% of jobs.

Over the past 15 years, Adair has seen a 16% dip in the number of citizens participating in the labor force, meaning that, although the number of residents has stayed fairly constant, the number of Adair county residents working or searching for a job has declined significantly.

Since 2009, the Adair population has increased from 25,125 to 25,552 while the labor force, those working or looking for a job, has decrease from 13,704 to 12,611.

*Graph constructed from FRED Labor Force Participation and FRED Resident Population data.

While labor unions or social interest groups might require the spotlight in more metropolitan areas, the economic interests of Adair County center around large Missouri employers like Walmart, as well as small, local businesses.