This Lake of the Ozarks county is projected to increase in total population but decline in numbers of children. This is due to the projected continuation of in-migration of retirees to the area. The size of the under-five age group shrank from 11 percent of the state's total population in 1960 to 7 percent in 1990. Elementary School Age. The 5- 13 age group also declined dramatically between 1960 and 1990, falling from 17 to 13 percent of the total population.
Gradual decline is projected over the next thirty years.
High School Age. The 14-17 age group is somewhat larger than it was in 1960, numbering 275 thousand persons today. It will increase to about 312 thousand in the year 2000, then gradually fall to 294 thousand persons in 2020, when it will comprise 5 percent of the total population.