1663 West Riverfork Drive

Stone County, Missouri: A Lake Town Built for Retirees — and Showing It

Stone County doesn't behave like most Missouri counties. Tucked into the Ozarks along the shores of Table Rock Lake and Bull Shoals Lake, this is one of the most retirement-dominated housing markets in the entire state — and the data makes that unmistakably clear. With a median age of 54.4 and nearly a third of residents (31.3%) aged 65 or older, Stone County skews older than almost any peer county in the Midwest. Children under 18 make up just 16.8% of the population — roughly half what you'd expect in a demographically balanced community.

That demographic reality shapes everything here, from housing to employment to the local economy.

A Housing Market Built on Ownership, Not Turnover

Stone County's homeownership rate of 83.7% is extraordinary — well above Missouri's statewide average and far exceeding the national norm. But the more revealing number is the vacancy rate: 35.1% of all housing units are unoccupied at any given time. That's not decay — it's the signature of a vacation and second-home market. Table Rock Lake draws seasonal residents and retirees from Kansas City, St. Louis, and beyond, many of whom own cabins and lake houses they occupy only part of the year. Those 20,267 housing units serve a permanent population of just under 32,000 people, meaning the county has built capacity for significantly more bodies than live here full-time.

Home values, at $236,500, sit well below the national median of $320,000 — which looks like a bargain until you factor in that local incomes are also well below national benchmarks. The price-to-income ratio is actually quite manageable at roughly 3.9x, a rare genuine affordability story in today's market.

Key Statistics

Stat	Value	Context
Median Home Value	$236,500	26% below national median of $320,000
Homeownership Rate	83.7%	One of Missouri's highest; reflects retiree-heavy ownership culture
Vacancy Rate	35.1%	Driven by second homes and seasonal lake properties
Population 65+	31.3%	Nearly 2x the national share of ~17%

The Labor Paradox

Here's the number that surprises most outside observers: a labor force participation rate of just 49.5%. Nationally, that figure sits around 62%. In Stone County, it's not a sign of economic distress so much as a structural reality — when a third of your population is retired, participation rates drop accordingly. Still, the 7.2% unemployment rate among those actively seeking work, combined with a 14% poverty rate and a child poverty rate of 17.5%, signals that the county's prosperity isn't evenly distributed. The lake economy creates service jobs — hospitality, marina work, landscaping — that are often seasonal and lower-wage, leaving working families in a different economic universe than their retired neighbors.

The Gini index of 0.442 confirms this: Stone County has meaningful income inequality, likely reflecting the gap between wealthy retirees who relocated here with substantial assets and long-time locals working the service economy.

FAQs

What makes Stone County, Missouri unique? Stone County is one of the Ozarks' premier retirement and lake-living destinations, anchored by Table Rock Lake and the resort town of Branson West. Its unusually high homeownership rate, enormous housing stock relative to population, and median age above 54 set it apart from virtually every other rural Missouri county.

Is Stone County, Missouri affordable for first-time homebuyers? On paper, yes — a median home value near $236,500 looks accessible, and the price-to-income ratio is below the national average of 4x. But with unemployment at 7.2% and nearly 16% of renters severely rent-burdened, the challenge is income, not home prices. Entry-level buyers competing in a market dominated by retirees paying cash face real headwinds.

Why are so many homes vacant in Stone County? The 35% vacancy rate is almost entirely a function of seasonal and second-home ownership around Table Rock Lake and Bull Shoals Lake. These properties sit empty between vacation visits and are not indicators of a distressed market — they're the product of decades of Ozarks tourism infrastructure attracting outside wealth.