Carter County, Missouri
14 public bodies govern here, 2 school districts are based here, and USDA lists 0 farmers markets. Everything below says where it came from.
In four numbers
- People
- 5,297
- Median household income
- $50,000
- ±8,926
- Unemployed
- 3.8%
- 90 of 2,343 in the labour force
- Homes with broadband
- 83.1%
- 1,694 of 2,038 households
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020-2024; read 2026-09-26. Percentages worked out here from the two counts shown.
Who governs here
County government 1
| Name | People | Office | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| County of Carter | 5,320 (2021) | Po Box 517, Van Buren | — |
Cities, towns and villages 3
| Name | People | Office | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Ellsinore | 423 (2021) | 11 W Cleveland Ave, Ellsinore | Website |
| City of Grandin | 231 (2021) | Po Box 59, Grandin | — |
| City of Van Buren | 746 (2021) | Po Box 40, Van Buren | — |
Special districts 10
| Name | What it does | Office | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carter County Ambulance District | Health | Po Box 160, Ellsinore | — |
| West Carter County Ambulance District | Health | Po Box 160, Van Buren | — |
| Carter County Library District | Libraries | Po Box 309, Van Buren | — |
| Eastwood Fire Protection District | Local fire protection | 5929 Carter Rt C, Van Buren | — |
| Ellsinore Rural Fire Protection District | Local fire protection | Po Box 521, Ellsinore | — |
| Fremont Fire Protection District | Local fire protection | Hc 67 Po Box A3, Fremont | — |
| South Van Buren Sewer District | Sewerage | Po Box 517, Van Buren | — |
| Carter County Soil and Water Conservation District | Soil and water conservation | Po Box 254, Ellsinore | Website |
| Carter County Public Water Supply District 1 | Water supply utility | Po Box 556, Van Buren | — |
| Carter County Public Water Supply District 2 | Water supply utility | Po Box 206, Fremont | — |
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Government Units List (published August 2023); the file read 2026-09-26. Offices are placed by county; a special district’s territory can cross county lines. Each body posts its own meetings on its website where the Census records one.
School districts based here
EAST CARTER CO. R-II
School district3 schools
24 S HERREN AVE, Ellsinore, MO, 63937
Its website — where its board posts meetings. Federal record.
VAN BUREN R-I
School district2 schools
906 BROADWAY, Van Buren, MO, 63965
Its website — where its board posts meetings. Federal record.
National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data 2024-25; read 2026-09-26.
Farmers markets
USDA’s directory lists no farmers market in this county. That is not the same as there being none: a market that never registered with USDA, and was not found by its 2023 web sweep, is not in the directory.
In the counties that border this one
Iron Mountain Market (400 S Main Street Poplar Bluff) · Orscheln Farm & Home Farmers' Market (950A North Westwood Poplar Bluff) · Downtown Poplar Bluff Farmers' Market (Poplar Bluff)
Which counties border which: U.S. Census Bureau, County Adjacency File (2024), the file read 2026-09-26. Bordering is not distance — counties that touch at one corner border each other.
USDA National Farmers Market Directory; read 2026-09-26.