Counties in Missouri by unemployment rate

Pemiscot County had the highest unemployment rate of 115 counties in April 2026, at 5.4%. Shelby County had the lowest, at 2.4%. The median was 3.4% and the figure for Missouri was 3.8%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest5.4Pemiscot County
Lowest2.4Shelby County
Median3.4115 counties
Missouri3.8History

Top 40 counties, April 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 5.4 %5.4Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5.1 %5.1Shannon CountyShannon County: 5.1 %5.1Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 5 %5Hickory CountyHickory County: 5 %5Ozark CountyOzark County: 4.8 %4.8Wayne CountyWayne County: 4.8 %4.8Taney CountyTaney County: 4.5 %4.5Benton CountyBenton County: 4.4 %4.4Butler CountyButler County: 4.4 %4.4Stone CountyStone County: 4.4 %4.4New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 4.3 %4.3Laclede CountyLaclede County: 4.2 %4.2Douglas CountyDouglas County: 4.1 %4.1Morgan CountyMorgan County: 4.1 %4.1Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 4.1 %4.1St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 4.1 %4.1Sullivan CountySullivan County: 4.1 %4.1Dallas CountyDallas County: 4 %4Howell CountyHowell County: 4 %4Madison CountyMadison County: 4 %4St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 4 %4Wright CountyWright County: 4 %4Adair CountyAdair County: 3.9 %3.9Camden CountyCamden County: 3.9 %3.9Carter CountyCarter County: 3.9 %3.9Crawford CountyCrawford County: 3.9 %3.9Grundy CountyGrundy County: 3.9 %3.9Iron CountyIron County: 3.9 %3.9Lewis CountyLewis County: 3.9 %3.9McDonald CountyMcDonald County: 3.9 %3.9Washington CountyWashington County: 3.9 %3.9Barry CountyBarry County: 3.8 %3.8Pike CountyPike County: 3.8 %3.8Ripley CountyRipley County: 3.8 %3.8Texas CountyTexas County: 3.8 %3.8Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 3.7 %3.7Carroll CountyCarroll County: 3.7 %3.7St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 3.7 %3.7St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 3.7 %3.7
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesApril 2026 (%)Change on April 2025
1Pemiscot County5.4+0.2 pts
2Mississippi County5.1-0.3 pts
2Shannon County5.1-0.2 pts
4Dunklin County50 pts
4Hickory County5-1.6 pts
6Ozark County4.8-0.2 pts
6Wayne County4.8-0.3 pts
8Taney County4.5-0.3 pts
9Benton County4.4-0.6 pts
9Butler County4.4-0.3 pts
9Stone County4.4-0.4 pts
12New Madrid County4.3-0.3 pts
13Laclede County4.2-0.2 pts
14Douglas County4.1+0.1 pts
14Morgan County4.1-0.6 pts
14Reynolds County4.1-0.4 pts
14St. Louis city4.1-0.2 pts
14Sullivan County4.1+1 pts
19Dallas County4-0.5 pts
19Howell County4-0.3 pts
19Madison County4-0.4 pts
19St. Francois County4-0.3 pts
19Wright County4-0.7 pts
24Adair County3.9-0.1 pts
24Camden County3.9-0.4 pts
24Carter County3.9-0.2 pts
24Crawford County3.9-0.4 pts
24Grundy County3.9-0.2 pts
24Iron County3.9-0.6 pts
24Lewis County3.9-0.1 pts
24McDonald County3.9-0.7 pts
24Washington County3.9-0.6 pts
33Barry County3.8-0.2 pts
33Pike County3.8-0.1 pts
33Ripley County3.8-0.4 pts
33Texas County3.8-0.2 pts
37Buchanan County3.7-0.1 pts
37Carroll County3.7-0.1 pts
37St. Clair County3.7-0.3 pts
37St. Louis County3.7-0.1 pts
41Cedar County3.6-0.5 pts
41Jackson County3.6-0.4 pts
41Pulaski County3.6-0.2 pts
41Stoddard County3.6-0.5 pts
45Audrain County3.5-0.3 pts
45Knox County3.5-0.3 pts
45Macon County3.5-0.4 pts
45Oregon County3.5-0.8 pts
45Pettis County3.50 pts
45Polk County3.5-0.4 pts
51Bates County3.4-0.3 pts
51Clark County3.4-1.1 pts
51DeKalb County3.4-0.4 pts
51Lawrence County3.4-0.4 pts
51Marion County3.4-0.5 pts
51Phelps County3.4-0.2 pts
51Scott County3.4-0.3 pts
51Webster County3.4-0.1 pts
59Dent County3.3-0.3 pts
59Franklin County3.3-0.1 pts
59Greene County3.3-0.2 pts
59Jasper County3.3-0.2 pts
59Jefferson County3.3-0.1 pts
59Johnson County3.3-0.2 pts
59Lincoln County3.3-0.1 pts
59Newton County3.3-0.4 pts
67Clinton County3.2-0.4 pts
67Cooper County3.20 pts
67Dade County3.2-0.3 pts
67Harrison County3.2-0.4 pts
67Henry County3.2-0.4 pts
67Holt County3.20 pts
67Miller County3.2-0.3 pts
67Monroe County3.2-0.6 pts
67Randolph County3.2-0.2 pts
67Vernon County3.2-0.3 pts
67Warren County3.20 pts
78Barton County3.1-0.6 pts
78Cape Girardeau County3.1-0.2 pts
78Lafayette County3.1-0.4 pts
78Ralls County3.1-0.4 pts
78Ray County3.1-0.5 pts
83Andrew County3-0.3 pts
83Bollinger County3-0.6 pts
83Caldwell County3-0.7 pts
83Cass County3-0.3 pts
83Chariton County3-0.4 pts
83Christian County3-0.2 pts
83Clay County3-0.4 pts
83Gasconade County3-0.4 pts
83Howard County3-0.3 pts
83Linn County3-0.6 pts
83Maries County3-0.5 pts
83Mercer County3-0.5 pts
83Saline County3-0.1 pts
83St. Charles County3-0.2 pts
97Boone County2.9-0.2 pts
97Callaway County2.9-0.3 pts
97Montgomery County2.9-0.2 pts
97Platte County2.9-0.3 pts
101Cole County2.8-0.2 pts
101Daviess County2.80 pts
101Livingston County2.8-0.5 pts
101Ste. Genevieve County2.8-0.5 pts
105Moniteau County2.7-0.3 pts
105Perry County2.7-0.3 pts
105Putnam County2.7-0.9 pts
108Schuyler County2.6-0.8 pts
108Scotland County2.6-0.5 pts
108Worth County2.6-0.4 pts
111Atchison County2.5-0.1 pts
111Gentry County2.5-0.8 pts
113Nodaway County2.4-0.3 pts
113Osage County2.4-0.5 pts
113Shelby County2.4-0.8 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?

Pemiscot County, with 5.4% in April 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Shelby County, with 2.4% in April 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