From 1990 to 2000, the population of the Great Plains region increased by almost 1 million people to 12.9 million, or a growth rate of 8.1 percent, significantly less than the 13.2-percent rate for the Nation. Of the four States in the Great Plains, Missouri recorded the largest percentage increase, with a 9.3-percent rate of growth. Average annual employment for the 12 months ending November 2000 was up 2.5 percent, compared with the same period a year earlier, to 6.7 million. The unemployment rate averaged a low 2.8 percent in the region during the period, down from 3 percent for the comparable period in 1999. Iowa had the lowest average unemployment rate, 2.3 percent, for the past year.

During 2000, building permits were issued for a total of 56,625 residential units, 8 percent less than during 1999. Through December 2000, 41,019 single-family building permits were issued in the Great Plains, down 13 percent from 1999. Multi-family building permit activity in the Great Plains through December 2000 was up 6 percent to 15,606 units compared with 1999. Existing home sales in the region in 2000 totaled 272,900 homes, down 3.7 percent. The median sales price for existing homes ranged from $80,200 in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area to $126,400 in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Spotlight on Columbia, Missouri

The Columbia, Missouri metropolitan area has been the third-fastest growing metropolitan area in the Great Plains region during the recent decade, with a 16-percent increase in population. Only Lawrence, Kansas, at 20 percent and Springfield, Missouri, at 17 percent reported higher growth rates since 1990. For much of the past 12 months the unemployment rate in the Columbia metropolitan area has been at or below 1 percent. Since 1993, the average annual unemployment rate has been 2 percent or less. In 1999 the rate was 1.2 percent.

Higher education, research, and health care are the major economic factors in the Columbia metropolitan area. The University of Missouri (MU) has its main campus in Columbia and has a current enrollment of approximately 23,000 students. Columbia is also the home of Columbia College and Stephens College. These two institutions have a combined enrollment of approximately 8,800 students. The three facilities employ 15,200 faculty and staff. MU is developing plans to construct a $6.7 million, 50,000-square-foot technology-business incubator on campus. The facility will nurture startup businesses attracted to the Columbia area because of the university’s science and technology assets. The university has obtained funding to construct a $58 million, state-of-the-art life sciences building. Columbia has nine major medical facilities, including Boone Hospital Center, Columbia Regional Hospital, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veteran’s Hospital, and University Hospital.

Since 1990, homebuilding in the Columbia area has been relatively steady, averaging 900 to 1,000 units annually. During 2000 an estimated 900 single-family permits were issued in the area, compared with 1,012 in 1999. Over the past 5 years, an average of 272 duplex units have been built annually, close to 20 percent of all residential building activity. According to local REALTORS^® , the demand for duplexes is fueled by retirees who have discovered that Columbia is an affordable retirement area. The average price of a new home sold in Columbia in 2000 through November was $158,951, essentially unchanged from last year. The average price of an existing home during the same period was $126,077, compared with $117,606 for the same period in 1999. According to the multiple listing service (MLS), sales activity in 2000 was up 4 percent. During 2000, building permits were issued for 364 multifamily units, compared with only 204 in 1999 and 160 in 1998. A typical two-bedroom apartment, listed in the Apartment Blue Book, rents for $500 per month.