Data / Rankings / Poverty rate (US official measure) / Counties in Missouri

Counties in Missouri by poverty rate

Adair County had the highest poverty rate of 115 counties in 2021, at 23.9%. St. Charles County had the lowest, at 5.3%. The median was 14.9% and the figure for Missouri was 12.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest23.9Adair County
Lowest5.3St. Charles County
Median14.9115 counties
Missouri12.8History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Adair CountyAdair County: 23.9 %23.9Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 23.7 %23.7Ripley CountyRipley County: 23.4 %23.4Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 23.2 %23.2Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 22.3 %22.3New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 22.1 %22.1Texas CountyTexas County: 22 %22Shannon CountyShannon County: 21.5 %21.5St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 21.5 %21.5Oregon CountyOregon County: 21.2 %21.2Douglas CountyDouglas County: 20.5 %20.5Carter CountyCarter County: 20.4 %20.4Ozark CountyOzark County: 20.4 %20.4Wayne CountyWayne County: 20 %20Butler CountyButler County: 19.9 %19.9Wright CountyWright County: 19.8 %19.8Washington CountyWashington County: 19.4 %19.4Vernon CountyVernon County: 19.3 %19.3Barry CountyBarry County: 19 %19Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 18.6 %18.6Iron CountyIron County: 18.6 %18.6Howell CountyHowell County: 18.4 %18.4Cedar CountyCedar County: 18.2 %18.2St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 18.2 %18.2Hickory CountyHickory County: 18.1 %18.1Phelps CountyPhelps County: 18.1 %18.1St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 18 %18Stoddard CountyStoddard County: 17.9 %17.9McDonald CountyMcDonald County: 17.8 %17.8Morgan CountyMorgan County: 17.6 %17.6Knox CountyKnox County: 17.1 %17.1Jasper CountyJasper County: 16.8 %16.8Grundy CountyGrundy County: 16.7 %16.7Boone CountyBoone County: 16.6 %16.6Dallas CountyDallas County: 16.6 %16.6Pike CountyPike County: 16.6 %16.6Dent CountyDent County: 16.4 %16.4Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 16.4 %16.4Audrain CountyAudrain County: 16.3 %16.3Pettis CountyPettis County: 16.1 %16.1
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Adair County23.9+6 pts
2Pemiscot County23.7-11.6 pts
3Ripley County23.4+2.1 pts
4Mississippi County23.2+4.1 pts
5Dunklin County22.3+2.1 pts
6New Madrid County22.1+3.2 pts
7Texas County22+1.7 pts
8Shannon County21.5-0.3 pts
8St. Louis city21.5+0.7 pts
10Oregon County21.2-0.8 pts
11Douglas County20.5+2.7 pts
12Carter County20.4+0.1 pts
12Ozark County20.4+0.1 pts
14Wayne County20-3.2 pts
15Butler County19.9-1.3 pts
16Wright County19.8+1.5 pts
17Washington County19.40 pts
18Vernon County19.3+4.3 pts
19Barry County19+3 pts
20Buchanan County18.6+5.5 pts
20Iron County18.6-0.9 pts
22Howell County18.40 pts
23Cedar County18.2-0.3 pts
23St. Clair County18.2-0.5 pts
25Hickory County18.1-1.5 pts
25Phelps County18.1+0.6 pts
27St. Francois County18+1.8 pts
28Stoddard County17.9+1.1 pts
29McDonald County17.8+0.2 pts
30Morgan County17.6+2.6 pts
31Knox County17.1+2.9 pts
32Jasper County16.8+1.6 pts
33Grundy County16.7+1.6 pts
34Boone County16.6+3.8 pts
34Dallas County16.6-7.5 pts
34Pike County16.6+1.7 pts
37Dent County16.4+1.3 pts
37Reynolds County16.4-3 pts
39Audrain County16.3-1.5 pts
40Pettis County16.1+0.6 pts
40Sullivan County16.1+0.5 pts
42Scott County15.9+1.3 pts
43Crawford County15.8-0.5 pts
44Laclede County15.7-0.6 pts
45Benton County15.6-1.2 pts
45Taney County15.60 pts
47Barton County15.5-1.1 pts
48Polk County15.3-0.3 pts
48Randolph County15.3+3.2 pts
50Dade County15.2+1.1 pts
50Nodaway County15.20 pts
52Harrison County15.1-2.7 pts
52Newton County15.1+1.2 pts
54Bollinger County15-1.3 pts
54Miller County15+1.1 pts
54Monroe County15+2 pts
54Webster County150 pts
58Lewis County14.9+0.5 pts
59Linn County14.70 pts
60Lawrence County14.6-0.6 pts
60Stone County14.6+0.4 pts
62Henry County14.5+0.9 pts
63Putnam County14.4-0.8 pts
64Shelby County14.3-0.3 pts
65Scotland County14.2-0.1 pts
66Gentry County14.1+1.1 pts
67Worth County14+0.2 pts
68Holt County13.9+1.7 pts
68Madison County13.9-2.4 pts
70Livingston County13.8+1 pts
70Marion County13.8-0.5 pts
72Bates County13.7-1.1 pts
72Macon County13.7+0.7 pts
72Saline County13.7+0.6 pts
75DeKalb County13.3+0.5 pts
76Caldwell County13.2+0.8 pts
76Camden County13.2-0.8 pts
76Greene County13.2-1.1 pts
76Montgomery County13.2+0.2 pts
80Jackson County13.1+0.7 pts
80Schuyler County13.1-2.1 pts
82Clark County13+0.7 pts
82Mercer County13-0.6 pts
84Daviess County12.9-1.2 pts
85Pulaski County12.7+0.2 pts
86Atchison County12.5+0.5 pts
86Cooper County12.5-1.1 pts
88Cape Girardeau County12.4+0.5 pts
89Howard County12.2-0.5 pts
90Carroll County12.1-1.3 pts
91Chariton County11.8-0.2 pts
92Johnson County11.7+0.9 pts
93Cole County11.6+2.3 pts
94Moniteau County11.4-0.2 pts
95Gasconade County11.3+0.1 pts
95Maries County11.3-1.6 pts
97Callaway County10.5-0.9 pts
97Lafayette County10.5+0.1 pts
97St. Louis County10.5+1.4 pts
100Ray County10.4+0.4 pts
101Ste. Genevieve County10.3+1.3 pts
102Clinton County10.1+0.6 pts
102Perry County10.1-1.6 pts
104Ralls County9.8-1.6 pts
105Franklin County9.6+0.5 pts
106Lincoln County9.3-0.1 pts
107Andrew County8.7-0.4 pts
107Jefferson County8.7-0.2 pts
109Osage County8.4-0.1 pts
110Christian County8.3-0.5 pts
111Clay County8.1+0.4 pts
112Warren County7.9-1.1 pts
113Cass County7.3+0.5 pts
114Platte County6.9+1.5 pts
115St. Charles County5.3+0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2021/2021-state-and-county/est21all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Missouri by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Missouri","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Missouri&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Adair County, with 23.9% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

St. Charles County, with 5.3% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings