Counties in Missouri by unemployment rate

Ozark County had the highest unemployment rate of 115 counties in December 2025, at 6.2%. Osage County had the lowest, at 2.3%. The median was 3.3% and the figure for Missouri was 3.9%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest6.2Ozark County
Lowest2.3Osage County
Median3.3115 counties
Missouri3.9History

Top 40 counties, December 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Ozark CountyOzark County: 6.2 %6.2Hickory CountyHickory County: 5.5 %5.5Laclede CountyLaclede County: 5.2 %5.2Shannon CountyShannon County: 5.2 %5.2Wayne CountyWayne County: 5.2 %5.2Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5 %5Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 4.8 %4.8Camden CountyCamden County: 4.5 %4.5Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 4.5 %4.5Morgan CountyMorgan County: 4.4 %4.4Benton CountyBenton County: 4.3 %4.3Stone CountyStone County: 4.3 %4.3Clinton CountyClinton County: 4.2 %4.2Ray CountyRay County: 4.2 %4.2Wright CountyWright County: 4.2 %4.2Butler CountyButler County: 4.1 %4.1Iron CountyIron County: 4.1 %4.1Lewis CountyLewis County: 4.1 %4.1New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 4 %4Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 4 %4Washington CountyWashington County: 4 %4Carter CountyCarter County: 3.9 %3.9Knox CountyKnox County: 3.9 %3.9Macon CountyMacon County: 3.9 %3.9Madison CountyMadison County: 3.9 %3.9Taney CountyTaney County: 3.9 %3.9Adair CountyAdair County: 3.8 %3.8Clark CountyClark County: 3.8 %3.8Dallas CountyDallas County: 3.8 %3.8Pike CountyPike County: 3.8 %3.8St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 3.8 %3.8Caldwell CountyCaldwell County: 3.7 %3.7Carroll CountyCarroll County: 3.7 %3.7DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 3.7 %3.7Douglas CountyDouglas County: 3.7 %3.7Howell CountyHowell County: 3.7 %3.7Ripley CountyRipley County: 3.7 %3.7St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 3.7 %3.7Barry CountyBarry County: 3.6 %3.6Clay CountyClay County: 3.6 %3.6
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesDecember 2025 (%)Change on December 2024
1Ozark County6.2-0.4 pts
2Hickory County5.5-1.1 pts
3Laclede County5.2+0.3 pts
3Shannon County5.2-0.2 pts
3Wayne County5.2-0.3 pts
6Mississippi County5-0.6 pts
7Pemiscot County4.8-0.5 pts
8Camden County4.5-0.4 pts
8Dunklin County4.5-0.7 pts
10Morgan County4.4-0.3 pts
11Benton County4.3-0.5 pts
11Stone County4.3-0.3 pts
13Clinton County4.2+0.9 pts
13Ray County4.2+0.9 pts
13Wright County4.2-0.6 pts
16Butler County4.1-0.4 pts
16Iron County4.1-0.3 pts
16Lewis County4.1+0.3 pts
19New Madrid County4-0.5 pts
19Reynolds County4-0.4 pts
19Washington County4-0.3 pts
22Carter County3.9-1.3 pts
22Knox County3.9-0.4 pts
22Macon County3.9-0.2 pts
22Madison County3.9-0.4 pts
22Taney County3.9-0.2 pts
27Adair County3.8+0.2 pts
27Clark County3.8+0.2 pts
27Dallas County3.8-0.6 pts
27Pike County3.8+0.4 pts
27St. Francois County3.8-0.3 pts
32Caldwell County3.7+0.5 pts
32Carroll County3.7-0.2 pts
32DeKalb County3.70 pts
32Douglas County3.7-0.2 pts
32Howell County3.7-0.4 pts
32Ripley County3.7-0.5 pts
32St. Louis city3.7-0.4 pts
39Barry County3.6-0.2 pts
39Clay County3.6+0.6 pts
39Crawford County3.6-0.6 pts
39Jackson County3.6-0.1 pts
39McDonald County3.6-0.6 pts
44Cedar County3.5-0.2 pts
44Miller County3.5-0.2 pts
44Oregon County3.5-0.4 pts
44Texas County3.5-0.5 pts
48Grundy County3.4+0.3 pts
48Marion County3.4-0.3 pts
48St. Clair County3.4-0.3 pts
48Stoddard County3.4-0.7 pts
52Dent County3.3-0.4 pts
52Lafayette County3.3+0.1 pts
52Lawrence County3.30 pts
52Mercer County3.3-0.5 pts
52Monroe County3.3-0.6 pts
52Pulaski County3.30 pts
52St. Louis County3.3-0.1 pts
52Sullivan County3.3+0.2 pts
60Audrain County3.20 pts
60Barton County3.20 pts
60Buchanan County3.2-0.4 pts
60Johnson County3.20 pts
60Linn County3.2-0.4 pts
60Newton County3.2-0.2 pts
60Polk County3.2-0.3 pts
60Ralls County3.2-0.3 pts
68Dade County3.1-0.1 pts
68Henry County3.1-0.3 pts
68Lincoln County3.1+0.1 pts
68Pettis County3.1-0.1 pts
68Phelps County3.1-0.2 pts
68Scotland County3.1+0.7 pts
68Scott County3.1-0.1 pts
75Bates County3-0.7 pts
75Chariton County3-0.8 pts
75Franklin County3-0.2 pts
75Harrison County3-0.1 pts
75Holt County3-0.3 pts
75Howard County30 pts
75Jefferson County3-0.2 pts
75Putnam County3-0.4 pts
75Randolph County3-0.3 pts
75Warren County3-0.2 pts
75Webster County3-0.2 pts
86Bollinger County2.9-0.3 pts
86Cape Girardeau County2.9+0.1 pts
86Cass County2.9-0.2 pts
86Cooper County2.9-0.2 pts
86Gasconade County2.90 pts
86Greene County2.9-0.1 pts
86Jasper County2.9-0.4 pts
86Livingston County2.90 pts
86Maries County2.9-0.7 pts
86Montgomery County2.9-0.3 pts
86Platte County2.90 pts
86Schuyler County2.9-0.9 pts
86Vernon County2.9-0.7 pts
99Andrew County2.8-0.2 pts
99Daviess County2.8+0.4 pts
99Saline County2.8+0.2 pts
99Worth County2.8-0.3 pts
103Callaway County2.7-0.1 pts
103Christian County2.7-0.1 pts
103Shelby County2.7-0.5 pts
103St. Charles County2.7-0.1 pts
107Boone County2.60 pts
107Gentry County2.6-0.3 pts
107Ste. Genevieve County2.6-0.6 pts
110Cole County2.5-0.2 pts
110Moniteau County2.5-0.2 pts
110Perry County2.5-0.2 pts
113Atchison County2.4-0.3 pts
114Nodaway County2.3+0.1 pts
114Osage County2.3-0.3 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?

Ozark County, with 6.2% in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Osage County, with 2.3% in December 2025.

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