The City of Doniphan is located near the center of Ripley County on the East bank of the Current River. Ripley County is located in the Ozark Foothills region of Missouri near the Arkansas border. The County is bordered by Butler County to the East, Carter County to the North and Oregon County to the West. To the South are the Arkansas counties of Randolph and Clay. Doniphan lies approximately 30 miles West of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 10 miles North of the Arkansas border, 180 miles East of Springfield, Missouri, and 180 miles South of St. Louis, Missouri. U.S. Highway 160 runs East/West thru Doniphan, as do two State Highways, 21 and 142.
Ripley County is not only a great place to visit but a great place to live. It offers all of the small town benefits, but is unique in the amount of services it has to offer its residents. A quality public education system, quality health care, libraries, museums, parks, recreational opportunities, public airport, effective law enforcement and local government, many community clubs, organizations and events.
Ripley County is one of the fastest growing counties in Missouri.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Ripley County's 2003 population at 13,781, a growth of 12.0% since 1990. Ripley County attracts many retirees as well as families wanting to raise their children here. The median age in Ripley County is 39.4.
EMPLOYMENT
At present, figures show approximately 5,000 people are employed in Ripley County. (See Charts) The breakdown of the sectors of employees is as follows:
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Services ----------------------------------- 1,000 |
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Trade -------------------------------------- 850 |
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Manufacturing ------------------------------ 800 |
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Government --------------------------------- 700 |
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Farm, Fishing, Forestry -------------------- 300 |
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Finanace, Insurance, Real Estate ----------- 175 |
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Transportation, Communications, Utilities -- 150 |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ripley County is a progressive, business-minded community ready to pursue new industry and business opportunities. The Ripley County Chamber of Commerce works closely with the Industrial Development Authority and Industrial Development Corporation to promote Ripley County. The Loyal Hood Industrial Park is located in Ripley County's enterprise zone that provides qualifying new industry and business with tax incentives administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
COST OF LIVING
In the 3rd quarter of 2004, Missouri had the 5th lowest cost of living in the United States. Although no cost of living data is available for Ripley County, Missouri had an index of 91.4 compared to the U.S. average of 100.
Other links:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia - Ripley County
MapStats - Ripley County
Missouri MapStats - Ripley County
