Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Missouri

Cities in Missouri by population

Kansas City, MO had the highest population of 81 cities in 2021, at 509,175. Monett, MO had the lowest, at 9,743. The median was 17,980 and the figure for Missouri was 6.17 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest509,175Kansas City, MO
Lowest9,743Monett, MO
Median17,98081 cities
Missouri6,172,551History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Kansas City, MO: 509,175 personsKansas City, MO509,175St. Louis, MO: 293,553 personsSt. Louis, MO293,553Springfield, MO: 169,248 personsSpringfield, MO169,248Columbia, MO: 127,373 personsColumbia, MO127,373Independence, MO: 122,202 personsIndependence, MO122,202Lee's Summit, MO: 102,837 personsLee's Summit, MO102,837O'Fallon, MO: 93,763 personsO'Fallon, MO93,763St. Joseph, MO: 71,388 personsSt. Joseph, MO71,388St. Charles, MO: 71,179 personsSt. Charles, MO71,179Blue Springs, MO: 59,475 personsBlue Springs, MO59,475St. Peters, MO: 58,220 personsSt. Peters, MO58,220Florissant, MO: 52,066 personsFlorissant, MO52,066Joplin, MO: 51,896 personsJoplin, MO51,896Chesterfield, MO: 49,745 personsChesterfield, MO49,745Wentzville, MO: 45,897 personsWentzville, MO45,897Jefferson City, MO: 42,427 personsJefferson City, MO42,427Cape Girardeau, MO: 40,005 personsCape Girardeau, MO40,005Wildwood, MO: 35,253 personsWildwood, MO35,253University City, MO: 34,908 personsUniversity City, MO34,908Ballwin, MO: 31,452 personsBallwin, MO31,452Liberty, MO: 30,321 personsLiberty, MO30,321Raytown, MO: 29,523 personsRaytown, MO29,523Kirkwood, MO: 29,396 personsKirkwood, MO29,396Maryland Heights, MO: 28,057 personsMaryland Heights, MO28,057Gladstone, MO: 27,061 personsGladstone, MO27,061Grandview, MO: 26,267 personsGrandview, MO26,267Hazelwood, MO: 25,229 personsHazelwood, MO25,229Belton, MO: 24,273 personsBelton, MO24,273Nixa, MO: 24,165 personsNixa, MO24,165Raymore, MO: 24,146 personsRaymore, MO24,146Webster Groves, MO: 23,860 personsWebster Groves, MO23,860Ozark, MO: 21,989 personsOzark, MO21,989Sedalia, MO: 21,848 personsSedalia, MO21,848Arnold, MO: 20,906 personsArnold, MO20,906Rolla, MO: 20,083 personsRolla, MO20,083Warrensburg, MO: 19,298 personsWarrensburg, MO19,298Republic, MO: 19,088 personsRepublic, MO19,088Creve Coeur, MO: 18,700 personsCreve Coeur, MO18,700Ferguson, MO: 18,338 personsFerguson, MO18,338Manchester, MO: 18,243 personsManchester, MO18,243Kansas City, MO: 509,175 personsKansas City, MO509,175St. Louis, MO: 293,553 personsSt. Louis, MO293,553Springfield, MO: 169,248 personsSpringfield, MO169,248Columbia, MO: 127,373 personsColumbia, MO127,373Independence, MO: 122,202 personsIndependence, MO122,202Lee's Summit, MO: 102,837 personsLee's Summit, MO102,837O'Fallon, MO: 93,763 personsO'Fallon, MO93,763St. Joseph, MO: 71,388 personsSt. Joseph, MO71,388St. Charles, MO: 71,179 personsSt. Charles, MO71,179Blue Springs, MO: 59,475 personsBlue Springs, MO59,475St. Peters, MO: 58,220 personsSt. Peters, MO58,220Florissant, MO: 52,066 personsFlorissant, MO52,066Joplin, MO: 51,896 personsJoplin, MO51,896Chesterfield, MO: 49,745 personsChesterfield, MO49,745Wentzville, MO: 45,897 personsWentzville, MO45,897Jefferson City, MO: 42,427 personsJefferson City, MO42,427Cape Girardeau, MO: 40,005 personsCape Girardeau, MO40,005Wildwood, MO: 35,253 personsWildwood, MO35,253University City, MO: 34,908 personsUniversity City, MO34,908Ballwin, MO: 31,452 personsBallwin, MO31,452Liberty, MO: 30,321 personsLiberty, MO30,321Raytown, MO: 29,523 personsRaytown, MO29,523Kirkwood, MO: 29,396 personsKirkwood, MO29,396Maryland Heights, MO: 28,057 personsMaryland Heights, MO28,057Gladstone, MO: 27,061 personsGladstone, MO27,061Grandview, MO: 26,267 personsGrandview, MO26,267Hazelwood, MO: 25,229 personsHazelwood, MO25,229Belton, MO: 24,273 personsBelton, MO24,273Nixa, MO: 24,165 personsNixa, MO24,165Raymore, MO: 24,146 personsRaymore, MO24,146Webster Groves, MO: 23,860 personsWebster Groves, MO23,860Ozark, MO: 21,989 personsOzark, MO21,989Sedalia, MO: 21,848 personsSedalia, MO21,848Arnold, MO: 20,906 personsArnold, MO20,906Rolla, MO: 20,083 personsRolla, MO20,083Warrensburg, MO: 19,298 personsWarrensburg, MO19,298Republic, MO: 19,088 personsRepublic, MO19,088Creve Coeur, MO: 18,700 personsCreve Coeur, MO18,700Ferguson, MO: 18,338 personsFerguson, MO18,338Manchester, MO: 18,243 personsManchester, MO18,243
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Kansas City, MO509,175+0.2%
2St. Louis, MO293,553-2.2%
3Springfield, MO169,248+0.1%
4Columbia, MO127,373+0.8%
5Independence, MO122,202-0.5%
6Lee's Summit, MO102,837+1.3%
7O'Fallon, MO93,763+2.3%
8St. Joseph, MO71,388-1%
9St. Charles, MO71,179+0.5%
10Blue Springs, MO59,475+1.2%
11St. Peters, MO58,220+0.9%
12Florissant, MO52,066-0.7%
13Joplin, MO51,896+0.3%
14Chesterfield, MO49,745-0.4%
15Wentzville, MO45,897+1.3%
16Jefferson City, MO42,427-0.2%
17Cape Girardeau, MO40,005+0.6%
18Wildwood, MO35,253-0.4%
19University City, MO34,908-0.7%
20Ballwin, MO31,452-0.7%
21Liberty, MO30,321+0.4%
22Raytown, MO29,523-1.1%
23Kirkwood, MO29,396-0.2%
24Maryland Heights, MO28,057-0.7%
25Gladstone, MO27,061-0.1%
26Grandview, MO26,267-1%
27Hazelwood, MO25,229-0.7%
28Belton, MO24,273+1%
29Nixa, MO24,165+3.1%
30Raymore, MO24,146+4.9%
31Webster Groves, MO23,860-0.6%
32Ozark, MO21,989+2.8%
33Sedalia, MO21,848+0.5%
34Arnold, MO20,906-0%
35Rolla, MO20,083+0.9%
36Warrensburg, MO19,298-0.1%
37Republic, MO19,088+1.8%
38Creve Coeur, MO18,700-0.6%
39Ferguson, MO18,338-0.8%
40Manchester, MO18,243-0.4%
41Farmington, MO17,980+1.4%
42Kirksville, MO17,476-0.3%
43Lake St. Louis, MO17,335+3.2%
44Clayton, MO17,293-0.4%
45Hannibal, MO17,044-0.1%
46Poplar Bluff, MO16,317+0.2%
47Sikeston, MO16,166-0.6%
48Grain Valley, MO16,002+2.1%
49Overland, MO15,792-0.8%
50Carthage, MO15,558-0.1%
51Jackson, MO15,499+0.3%
52Lebanon, MO15,096+0.6%
53Washington, MO14,950+1.7%
54Marshall, MO13,760-0.2%
55Moberly, MO13,674+0.6%
56Troy, MO13,461+5%
57Webb City, MO13,290+1.4%
58Festus, MO12,959+1.3%
59Dardenne Prairie, MO12,956+1.4%
60Neosho, MO12,895+1.3%
61Jennings, MO12,893-0.1%
62St. Ann, MO12,876-0.8%
63Branson, MO12,761+0.9%
64Fulton, MO12,652+0.4%
65Union, MO12,501+1%
66Crestwood, MO12,340-0.4%
67West Plains, MO12,283+0.7%
68Eureka, MO12,197+3.6%
69Town and Country, MO11,622-0.1%
70Mexico, MO11,457+0.2%
71Bridgeton, MO11,426-0.2%
72Bolivar, MO10,971+1.6%
73Kearney, MO10,762+2.8%
74Excelsior Springs, MO10,605+0.3%
75Maryville, MO10,590-0.3%
76Smithville, MO10,588+1%
77Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO10,564-1.3%
78Kennett, MO10,338-1.4%
79Harrisonville, MO10,052-0.8%
80Ellisville, MO9,946-0.4%
81Monett, MO9,743+1.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Missouri by population, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Missouri by population, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Missouri by population, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Missouri by population, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_missouri_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Missouri by population, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Missouri by population, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/missouri-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Kansas City, MO, with 509,175 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Monett, MO, with 9,743 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, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in Missouri: more rankings