Work is continuing on a new master plan for Warren County, and members of the county’s advisory committee on the new plan met March 5 to get updates on the status of the project.

The advisory committee for the master plan met March 5 to get updates on the plan’s progress from i5Group, the entity hired by the county to develop the new plan. The advisory committee consists of several area partners including the Warren County Commission, officials with local municipalities, Boonslick Regional Planning Commission and the Greater Warren County Economic Development Council.

The presentation was given by i5Group Project Manager Stephen Ibendahl, who said that the work on the master plan is still early on in the planning process. Currently the county has been seeking input on the master plan from county residents through an online survey and Ibendahl said that close to 1,000 survey responses have already been received.

Ibendahl then went through a presentation regarding the current existing conditions in Warren County focusing on a variety of different factors including jobs, land use, population characteristics, transportation, housing and natural resources.

According to information provided during the meeting there are currently over 7,700 jobs, of which 2,951 are currently being filled by county residents, while 4,812 commute into the county for work. That is a 21 percent increase from the 6,049 jobs located in the county in 2002. The majority of jobs are located in Warrenton, with 42.7 percent of the jobs being located in the city. Wright City is second at 16.2 percent, while Truesdale has 14.9 percent of the jobs. Marthasville and Innsbrook account for small percentages while the remaining 21.8 percent of jobs are located in the rest of the county.

The largest job type by a significant margin are manufacturing jobs, with 1,748 begin categorized as such. The next largest category is retail trade at 876 jobs.

In the unincorporated areas of the county 51 percent of the land is classified as deciduous forest, while 19 percent is classified as cultivated crops with 17 percent being classified as pasture.

Property classes within the county are predominantly classified as ag land and ag dwellings. Approximately 45 percent is classified as ag land, while 27 percent is classified as ag dwelling. Residential makes up 20 percent, while commercial accounts for only two percent.

Population has shown a steady increase. Based upon 2024 U.S. Census Bureau figures, Warrenton has a population of 9,420, with Wright City at 5,723. The five primary cities in Warren County account for 18,033, or 47 percent of the population, while the rest of the county accounts for 20,445.

Median household income varies greatly in the county with the highest being in the area around Innsbrook at $113,000, while the lowest is in an area between Warrenton/Truesdale and Innsbrook at $51,000.

One of the statistics provided by Ibendahl during the meeting that received the most discussion was median home values. According to information from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2024 the average home value in Warren County was $260,400. During the discussion Wright City Mayor Michelle Heiliger said that she felt the number was too low, noting that new construction throughout the county starts at $300,000 per home and typically goes up from there. There was some discussion about the possibility that lower property value assessments in Warren County over the last few years may have contributed to the presumed lower value.

Ibendahl said all of the information presented at the March 5 meeting would be presented to the public during an open house scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 at the Warren County Administration Building.

At one point Warren County Presiding Commissioner Joe Gildehaus asked whether more detailed information would be provided. Ibendahl said that his group is planning to provide what they call a discovery report in late spring that will combine the existing conditions in the county with the results of the countywide survey to begin developing plans that will ultimately be including in the master plan.