Calloway County is a limited dry county, meaning that sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except by the drink in restaurants seating at least 100 diners in Murray and at the Murray Golf Course.
Most resident minors attend schools in the Calloway County School District.
The Murray Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Calloway County.
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,177 people, 13,862 households, and 8,594 families residing in the county. The population density was 88 per square mile (34 /km). There were 16,069 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16 /km). The racial makeup of the county was 93.48% White, 3.56% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 13,862 households out of which 25.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.00% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.79.
The age distribution was 18.70% under the age of 18, 19.80% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. The relatively large 18-to-24 population is mostly due to the presence of Murray State University. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,134, and the median income for a family was $39,914. Males had a median income of $31,184 versus $22,046 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,566. About 9.80% of families and 16.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.70% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2000 census, the Murray Micropolitan Statistical Area is composed of Calloway County. A micropolitan area is one that is too small to be a metropolitan area, but has a central city of at least 10,000 people.