Kirksville is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Kirksville to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.
Kirksville, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
One of the benefits of Kirksville is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.37 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
The population of Kirksville is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 37.67% of adults in Kirksville have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Kirksville in 2022 was $27,841, which is middle income relative to Missouri, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $111,364 for a family of four. However, Kirksville contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Kirksville is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Kirksville home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Kirksville residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Kirksville include German, Irish, English, French, and European.
The most common language spoken in Kirksville is English. Other important languages spoken here include French and Spanish.
