Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

The town was named after the Dardenne family, early settlers in the Mississippi Valley. Prior to settlement, the area was a prairie, and today has relatively few trees compared to its surrounding lower-lying areas.

The town was incorporated in 1981, and was certified as a fourth-class city in 2001. Marilyn Field was the first mayor of the town, she served from 2001 until 2003, when current mayor Pam Fogarty was first elected to a two-year term. Fogarty was re-elected as Dardenne Prairie mayor in April of 2005, and received a four-year term through 2009.

The town is in transition from farming to suburban tract development.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,384 people, 1,431 households, and 1,273 families residing in the city. The population density was 387.3/km² (1,004.3/mi²). There were 1,516 housing units at an average density of 133.9/km² (347.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.42% White, 1.67% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

There were 1,431 households out of which 48.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.3% were married couples living together, 3.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.0% were non-families. 8.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.3% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $77,086, and the median income for a family was $80,486. Males had a median income of $56,780 versus $30,037 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,325. None of the families and 0.7% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 3.0% of those over 64.