9,000 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.0% since 2020)
426 square miles of land · 21 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
11 active community water systems list Caldwell County in the area they serve, reporting 19,478 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| RAY COUNTY CONS PWSD 2 groundwater · local government · MO1024511 | 9,360 served |
| CLINTON COUNTY PWSD 3 buys surface water · local government · MO1024155 | 3,722 served |
| HAMILTON PWS surface water · local government · MO1010342 | 1,813 served |
| CALDWELL COUNTY PWSD 3 buys surface water · local government · MO1021318 | 1,452 served |
| BRAYMER PWS groundwater · local government · MO1010098 | 878 served |
| CALDWELL COUNTY PWSD 2 buys surface water · local government · MO1024079 | 695 served |
| POLO PWS buys groundwater · local government · MO1010653 | 575 served |
| CALDWELL COUNTY PWSD 1 groundwater · local government · MO1024078 | 335 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 120 people were held in Caldwell County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2020), or 2,235 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2015 it was about 145.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
8 school districts have their office in Caldwell County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $13.7 million — $7.8 million to run schools, about $12,154 per student, plus $5.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.6 million local (mostly property tax), $4.4 million state, $1.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.6 million.
Spent $6.3 million — $5.7 million to run schools, about $14,032 per student, plus $382,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.8 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $464,000 federal. Long-term debt: $4 million.
Spent $4 million — $4 million to run schools, about $15,837 per student, plus $14,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2.1 million state, $777,000 federal.
Spent $2 million — $1.9 million to run schools, about $31,949 per student, plus $84,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $618,000 local (mostly property tax), $775,000 state, $204,000 federal.
Spent $960,000 — $799,000 to run schools, about $17,756 per student. Money in: $302,000 local (mostly property tax), $495,000 state, $282,000 federal.
Spent $1 million — $808,000 to run schools, about $20,718 per student, plus $14,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $449,000 local (mostly property tax), $489,000 state, $74,000 federal.
Spent $848,000 — $653,000 to run schools, about $19,788 per student, plus $99,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $412,000 local (mostly property tax), $376,000 state, $156,000 federal.
Spent $798,000 — $619,000 to run schools, about $26,913 per student, plus $19,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $377,000 local (mostly property tax), $400,000 state, $32,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Caldwell County about $4.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
211 bridges in Caldwell County: 85 in good condition, 104 fair, and 22 poor (10.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| RT U E over TOM CR · built 1958 | 196 vehicles a day |
| RT D S over SHOAL CR · built 1954 | 192 vehicles a day |
| NW OLD 36 HWY over BRUSHY CR · built 1922 | 100 vehicles a day |
| NW OLD 36 HWY over MILL CR · built 1922 | 100 vehicles a day |
| NE OLD 36 HWY over UP RR · built 1935 | 100 vehicles a day |
| SE LINCOLN RD over IMRL RR · built 1950 | 35 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $6.5 million of work in Caldwell County in fiscal 2025, about $734 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Missouri are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Caldwell County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Caldwell County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Missouri: the state government and every county in Missouri.
Nearby counties: Daviess County (21 mi) · Clinton County (22 mi) · Ray County (24 mi) · Livingston County (24 mi) · DeKalb County (28 mi) · Carroll County (30 mi).