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

Counties in Missouri by poverty rate

Pemiscot County had the highest poverty rate of 115 counties in 2022, at 30%. St. Charles County had the lowest, at 5.2%. The median was 15.1% and the figure for Missouri was 13.1%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest30Pemiscot County
Lowest5.2St. Charles County
Median15.1115 counties
Missouri13.1History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 30 %30Adair CountyAdair County: 28.2 %28.2Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 25.9 %25.9Wayne CountyWayne County: 25.4 %25.4Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 24.8 %24.8Wright CountyWright County: 22.9 %22.9Ripley CountyRipley County: 22.2 %22.2Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 21.8 %21.8Shannon CountyShannon County: 21.4 %21.4St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 21.3 %21.3Ozark CountyOzark County: 21.1 %21.1Hickory CountyHickory County: 20.8 %20.8Oregon CountyOregon County: 20.8 %20.8St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 19.8 %19.8Butler CountyButler County: 19.6 %19.6Washington CountyWashington County: 19.6 %19.6Carter CountyCarter County: 19.5 %19.5Morgan CountyMorgan County: 19.3 %19.3Texas CountyTexas County: 19.3 %19.3Howell CountyHowell County: 19.2 %19.2Iron CountyIron County: 19.2 %19.2St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 18.9 %18.9Douglas CountyDouglas County: 18.5 %18.5Dade CountyDade County: 18.4 %18.4Jasper CountyJasper County: 18.1 %18.1Madison CountyMadison County: 18.1 %18.1Grundy CountyGrundy County: 18 %18Dent CountyDent County: 17.9 %17.9Audrain CountyAudrain County: 17.7 %17.7Polk CountyPolk County: 17.7 %17.7Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 17.6 %17.6Vernon CountyVernon County: 17.6 %17.6Nodaway CountyNodaway County: 17.4 %17.4New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 17.3 %17.3Randolph CountyRandolph County: 16.8 %16.8Scott CountyScott County: 16.8 %16.8Boone CountyBoone County: 16.7 %16.7Barry CountyBarry County: 16.6 %16.6Bates CountyBates County: 16.5 %16.5Cedar CountyCedar County: 16.4 %16.4
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Pemiscot County30+6.3 pts
2Adair County28.2+4.3 pts
3Dunklin County25.9+3.6 pts
4Wayne County25.4+5.4 pts
5Mississippi County24.8+1.6 pts
6Wright County22.9+3.1 pts
7Ripley County22.2-1.2 pts
8Reynolds County21.8+5.4 pts
9Shannon County21.4-0.1 pts
10St. Louis city21.3-0.2 pts
11Ozark County21.1+0.7 pts
12Hickory County20.8+2.7 pts
12Oregon County20.8-0.4 pts
14St. Clair County19.8+1.6 pts
15Butler County19.6-0.3 pts
15Washington County19.6+0.2 pts
17Carter County19.5-0.9 pts
18Morgan County19.3+1.7 pts
18Texas County19.3-2.7 pts
20Howell County19.2+0.8 pts
20Iron County19.2+0.6 pts
22St. Francois County18.9+0.9 pts
23Douglas County18.5-2 pts
24Dade County18.4+3.2 pts
25Jasper County18.1+1.3 pts
25Madison County18.1+4.2 pts
27Grundy County18+1.3 pts
28Dent County17.9+1.5 pts
29Audrain County17.7+1.4 pts
29Polk County17.7+2.4 pts
31Buchanan County17.6-1 pts
31Vernon County17.6-1.7 pts
33Nodaway County17.4+2.2 pts
34New Madrid County17.3-4.8 pts
35Randolph County16.8+1.5 pts
35Scott County16.8+0.9 pts
37Boone County16.7+0.1 pts
38Barry County16.6-2.4 pts
39Bates County16.5+2.8 pts
40Cedar County16.4-1.8 pts
40Harrison County16.4+1.3 pts
40Putnam County16.4+2 pts
40Worth County16.4+2.4 pts
44Dallas County15.9-0.7 pts
45McDonald County15.8-2 pts
46Phelps County15.7-2.4 pts
46Webster County15.7+0.7 pts
48Howard County15.6+3.4 pts
48Knox County15.6-1.5 pts
48Sullivan County15.6-0.5 pts
51Maries County15.5+4.2 pts
52Crawford County15.3-0.5 pts
52Daviess County15.3+2.4 pts
52Saline County15.3+1.6 pts
55Barton County15.2-0.3 pts
55Schuyler County15.2+2.1 pts
55Shelby County15.2+0.9 pts
58Mercer County15.1+2.1 pts
58Stoddard County15.1-2.8 pts
60Greene County15+1.8 pts
60Jackson County15+1.9 pts
60Laclede County15-0.7 pts
60Pike County15-1.6 pts
64Montgomery County14.9+1.7 pts
65Gentry County14.8+0.7 pts
65Newton County14.8-0.3 pts
67Benton County14.7-0.9 pts
68Livingston County14.5+0.7 pts
69Carroll County14.3+2.2 pts
70Cape Girardeau County14+1.6 pts
70Gasconade County14+2.7 pts
70Henry County14-0.5 pts
70Macon County14+0.3 pts
74Monroe County13.7-1.3 pts
75Johnson County13.6+1.9 pts
75Lewis County13.6-1.3 pts
77Linn County13.5-1.2 pts
77Taney County13.5-2.1 pts
79Lawrence County13.3-1.3 pts
80Chariton County13.1+1.3 pts
80Pettis County13.1-3 pts
82Clark County130 pts
83Stone County12.9-1.7 pts
84Clinton County12.7+2.6 pts
84DeKalb County12.7-0.6 pts
86Miller County12.6-2.4 pts
86Ray County12.6+2.2 pts
88Caldwell County12.5-0.7 pts
88Camden County12.5-0.7 pts
90Atchison County12.4-0.1 pts
90Marion County12.4-1.4 pts
92Pulaski County12.3-0.4 pts
93Bollinger County11.9-3.1 pts
93Holt County11.9-2 pts
95Scotland County11.6-2.6 pts
96Perry County11.5+1.4 pts
97Moniteau County11.40 pts
98Cooper County11.1-1.4 pts
99Lafayette County11+0.5 pts
100Callaway County10.6+0.1 pts
101St. Louis County10.50 pts
102Ste. Genevieve County10.1-0.2 pts
103Lincoln County9.9+0.6 pts
104Cole County9.8-1.8 pts
105Ralls County9.4-0.4 pts
106Jefferson County9+0.3 pts
107Franklin County8.8-0.8 pts
108Christian County8.4+0.1 pts
109Osage County8.3-0.1 pts
109Platte County8.3+1.4 pts
109Warren County8.3+0.4 pts
112Cass County8.2+0.9 pts
113Andrew County8-0.7 pts
114Clay County7.7-0.4 pts
115St. Charles County5.2-0.1 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/2022/2022-state-and-county/est22all.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?

Pemiscot County, with 30% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

St. Charles County, with 5.2% in 2022.

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