By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – State officials are projecting that Missouri's population will grow about six-percent per decade until 2030 when almost seven-million people will live here.
Despite the projected growth, Missouri is expected to lag behind the national rate in population expansion over the next 20 or so years.
Other interesting projections -- the number of residents over age 65 will increase 87-percent to represent more than one-fifth of all Missourians by 2030.
St. Louis County will still be the state's largest county in 2030, but will lose nearly 50-thousand residents since 2005. The population of St. Charles County is expected to continue to boom - rising by almost 175-thousand by 2030. The city of St. Louis will remain about the same size.
Missouri's state demographer in the Office of Administration compiled the projections.