Counties in Missouri by unemployment rate, August 2026

Mississippi County had the highest unemployment rate of 115 counties in August 2026, at 6.2%. Ste. Genevieve County had the lowest, at 2.9%. The median was 3.9% and the figure for Missouri was 3.5%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median3.9115 counties
Missouri3.5History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 6.2 %6.2Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 6 %6Hickory CountyHickory County: 5.7 %5.7Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 5.7 %5.7Adair CountyAdair County: 5.3 %5.3Butler CountyButler County: 5.3 %5.3Ozark CountyOzark County: 5.3 %5.3Wayne CountyWayne County: 5.3 %5.3Shannon CountyShannon County: 5.2 %5.2Ripley CountyRipley County: 5.1 %5.1Carter CountyCarter County: 5 %5New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 5 %5Benton CountyBenton County: 4.9 %4.9Cedar CountyCedar County: 4.8 %4.8Iron CountyIron County: 4.8 %4.8Grundy CountyGrundy County: 4.6 %4.6Laclede CountyLaclede County: 4.6 %4.6Randolph CountyRandolph County: 4.6 %4.6St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 4.6 %4.6Barry CountyBarry County: 4.5 %4.5Howell CountyHowell County: 4.5 %4.5Lewis CountyLewis County: 4.5 %4.5Morgan CountyMorgan County: 4.5 %4.5Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 4.5 %4.5Sullivan CountySullivan County: 4.5 %4.5Wright CountyWright County: 4.5 %4.5Dallas CountyDallas County: 4.4 %4.4Knox CountyKnox County: 4.4 %4.4Madison CountyMadison County: 4.4 %4.4McDonald CountyMcDonald County: 4.4 %4.4Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 4.4 %4.4St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 4.4 %4.4Stoddard CountyStoddard County: 4.4 %4.4Texas CountyTexas County: 4.4 %4.4Crawford CountyCrawford County: 4.3 %4.3Douglas CountyDouglas County: 4.3 %4.3Johnson CountyJohnson County: 4.3 %4.3Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.3 %4.3Pettis CountyPettis County: 4.3 %4.3Pike CountyPike County: 4.3 %4.3
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Mississippi County Provisional6.2-0.4 pts
2Dunklin County Provisional60 pts
3Hickory County Provisional5.7-1.6 pts
3Pemiscot County Provisional5.7-0.8 pts
5Adair County Provisional5.3-0.1 pts
5Butler County Provisional5.3-0.4 pts
5Ozark County Provisional5.3-1 pts
5Wayne County Provisional5.3-0.7 pts
9Shannon County Provisional5.2-0.6 pts
10Ripley County Provisional5.1-0.8 pts
11Carter County Provisional5+0.2 pts
11New Madrid County Provisional5-0.7 pts
13Benton County Provisional4.9-0.6 pts
14Cedar County Provisional4.8-0.3 pts
14Iron County Provisional4.8-0.9 pts
16Grundy County Provisional4.6-0.5 pts
16Laclede County Provisional4.6-0.8 pts
16Randolph County Provisional4.6+0.4 pts
16St. Louis city Provisional4.6-0.4 pts
20Barry County Provisional4.5-0.5 pts
20Howell County Provisional4.5-0.5 pts
20Lewis County Provisional4.5-0.7 pts
20Morgan County Provisional4.5-0.7 pts
20Pulaski County Provisional4.5-0.1 pts
20Sullivan County Provisional4.5+0.5 pts
20Wright County Provisional4.5-1.1 pts
27Dallas County Provisional4.4-0.8 pts
27Knox County Provisional4.4-0.9 pts
27Madison County Provisional4.4-0.7 pts
27McDonald County Provisional4.4-0.8 pts
27Reynolds County Provisional4.4-0.6 pts
27St. Francois County Provisional4.4-0.5 pts
27Stoddard County Provisional4.4-0.4 pts
27Texas County Provisional4.4-0.6 pts
35Crawford County Provisional4.3-0.6 pts
35Douglas County Provisional4.3-0.7 pts
35Johnson County Provisional4.3-0.3 pts
35Monroe County Provisional4.3-0.1 pts
35Pettis County Provisional4.3-0.5 pts
35Pike County Provisional4.3-0.6 pts
35Taney County Provisional4.3-0.4 pts
35Washington County Provisional4.3-0.6 pts
43Dade County Provisional4.2-0.1 pts
43Henry County Provisional4.2-0.2 pts
43Lawrence County Provisional4.2-0.5 pts
43Macon County Provisional4.2-0.6 pts
43St. Clair County Provisional4.2-0.9 pts
43St. Louis County Provisional4.2-0.3 pts
49Buchanan County Provisional4.1-0.4 pts
49Dent County Provisional4.1-0.5 pts
49Polk County Provisional4.1-0.4 pts
49Saline County Provisional4.1-0.1 pts
49Stone County Provisional4.1-0.7 pts
54Cooper County Provisional4-0.3 pts
54Linn County Provisional4-0.6 pts
54Scott County Provisional4-0.4 pts
57Clark County Provisional3.9-1.2 pts
57DeKalb County Provisional3.9-0.8 pts
57Holt County Provisional3.9-0.3 pts
57Howard County Provisional3.9-0.8 pts
57Marion County Provisional3.9-0.6 pts
57Oregon County Provisional3.9-0.9 pts
57Phelps County Provisional3.9-0.4 pts
57Vernon County Provisional3.9-0.4 pts
57Webster County Provisional3.9-0.5 pts
66Audrain County Provisional3.8-0.6 pts
66Chariton County Provisional3.8-0.4 pts
66Jackson County Provisional3.8-0.6 pts
66Mercer County Provisional3.8-0.8 pts
66Newton County Provisional3.8-0.5 pts
66Ray County Provisional3.8-0.2 pts
72Bates County Provisional3.7-0.4 pts
72Caldwell County Provisional3.7-0.6 pts
72Carroll County Provisional3.7-1.1 pts
72Jasper County Provisional3.7-0.4 pts
72Lafayette County Provisional3.7-0.4 pts
72Lincoln County Provisional3.7-0.2 pts
72Warren County Provisional3.7-0.2 pts
79Barton County Provisional3.6-1 pts
79Boone County Provisional3.6-0.2 pts
79Cape Girardeau County Provisional3.6-0.4 pts
79Clinton County Provisional3.6-0.4 pts
79Franklin County Provisional3.6-0.3 pts
79Greene County Provisional3.6-0.4 pts
79Jefferson County Provisional3.6-0.2 pts
86Bollinger County Provisional3.5-0.4 pts
86Cass County Provisional3.5-0.2 pts
86Christian County Provisional3.5-0.3 pts
86Gasconade County Provisional3.5-0.3 pts
86Harrison County Provisional3.5-0.7 pts
86Maries County Provisional3.5-0.8 pts
92Andrew County Provisional3.4-0.4 pts
92Camden County Provisional3.4-0.6 pts
92Gentry County Provisional3.4-0.8 pts
92Livingston County Provisional3.4-0.7 pts
92Miller County Provisional3.4-0.2 pts
92Montgomery County Provisional3.4-0.2 pts
92Nodaway County Provisional3.4-0.1 pts
92Scotland County Provisional3.4-0.5 pts
100Callaway County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
100Clay County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
100Cole County Provisional3.3-0.3 pts
100Moniteau County Provisional3.3-0.4 pts
100St. Charles County Provisional3.3-0.3 pts
105Platte County Provisional3.2-0.4 pts
105Putnam County Provisional3.2-0.7 pts
105Ralls County Provisional3.2-0.8 pts
105Shelby County Provisional3.2-0.4 pts
105Worth County Provisional3.2-0.6 pts
110Osage County Provisional3.1-0.5 pts
110Perry County Provisional3.1-0.2 pts
110Schuyler County Provisional3.1-0.9 pts
113Daviess County Provisional3-0.7 pts
114Atchison County Provisional2.9-0.8 pts
114Ste. Genevieve County Provisional2.9-0.6 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Mississippi County, with 6.2% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Ste. Genevieve County, with 2.9% in August 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings