Kirksville is a small town where college students really create the town feel and character. So many small towns have lost population over the last 20-30 years that having the local college presence in the Kirksville area, with all of the energy of the students filling area dorms and apartments each fall, really helps Kirksville maintain a good economy.
Kirksville, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 15.37 minutes getting to work every day.
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 2018 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.
