Counties in Missouri by unemployment rate

Pemiscot County had the highest unemployment rate of 115 counties in May 2026, at 5.4%. Atchison County had the lowest, at 2.4%. The median was 3.5% and the figure for Missouri was 3.8%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest5.4Pemiscot County
Median3.5115 counties
Missouri3.8History

Top 40 counties, May 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Pemiscot CountyPemiscot County: 5.4 %5.4Mississippi CountyMississippi County: 5.2 %5.2Ozark CountyOzark County: 5.1 %5.1Dunklin CountyDunklin County: 5 %5Hickory CountyHickory County: 5 %5Shannon CountyShannon County: 4.6 %4.6Wayne CountyWayne County: 4.6 %4.6Adair CountyAdair County: 4.5 %4.5Benton CountyBenton County: 4.5 %4.5Laclede CountyLaclede County: 4.5 %4.5Butler CountyButler County: 4.3 %4.3New Madrid CountyNew Madrid County: 4.3 %4.3Taney CountyTaney County: 4.2 %4.2Wright CountyWright County: 4.2 %4.2Dallas CountyDallas County: 4.1 %4.1Howell CountyHowell County: 4.1 %4.1Iron CountyIron County: 4.1 %4.1Knox CountyKnox County: 4.1 %4.1Morgan CountyMorgan County: 4.1 %4.1Reynolds CountyReynolds County: 4.1 %4.1Stone CountyStone County: 4.1 %4.1Lewis CountyLewis County: 4 %4McDonald CountyMcDonald County: 4 %4St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 4 %4Barry CountyBarry County: 3.9 %3.9Douglas CountyDouglas County: 3.9 %3.9Madison CountyMadison County: 3.9 %3.9Pike CountyPike County: 3.9 %3.9St. Francois CountySt. Francois County: 3.9 %3.9Washington CountyWashington County: 3.9 %3.9Carter CountyCarter County: 3.8 %3.8Crawford CountyCrawford County: 3.8 %3.8Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 3.8 %3.8Ripley CountyRipley County: 3.8 %3.8Sullivan CountySullivan County: 3.8 %3.8Texas CountyTexas County: 3.8 %3.8Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 3.7 %3.7Carroll CountyCarroll County: 3.7 %3.7Grundy CountyGrundy County: 3.7 %3.7Pettis CountyPettis County: 3.7 %3.7
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesMay 2026 (%)Change on May 2025
1Pemiscot County5.4-0.4 pts
2Mississippi County5.2-0.8 pts
3Ozark County5.1-0.6 pts
4Dunklin County5-0.2 pts
4Hickory County5-1.5 pts
6Shannon County4.6-0.7 pts
6Wayne County4.6-0.9 pts
8Adair County4.5-0.3 pts
8Benton County4.5-0.9 pts
8Laclede County4.5-0.1 pts
11Butler County4.3-0.8 pts
11New Madrid County4.3-0.6 pts
13Taney County4.2-0.6 pts
13Wright County4.2-1 pts
15Dallas County4.1-0.9 pts
15Howell County4.1-0.6 pts
15Iron County4.1-0.8 pts
15Knox County4.1-0.4 pts
15Morgan County4.1-0.7 pts
15Reynolds County4.1-0.5 pts
15Stone County4.1-0.6 pts
22Lewis County4-0.4 pts
22McDonald County4-1 pts
22St. Louis city4-0.5 pts
25Barry County3.9-0.5 pts
25Douglas County3.9-0.5 pts
25Madison County3.9-0.7 pts
25Pike County3.9-0.5 pts
25St. Francois County3.9-0.6 pts
25Washington County3.9-0.8 pts
31Carter County3.8-0.7 pts
31Crawford County3.8-0.6 pts
31Pulaski County3.8-0.4 pts
31Ripley County3.8-0.7 pts
31Sullivan County3.8+0.3 pts
31Texas County3.8-0.6 pts
37Buchanan County3.7-0.5 pts
37Carroll County3.7-0.5 pts
37Grundy County3.7-0.7 pts
37Pettis County3.7-0.3 pts
37Polk County3.7-0.6 pts
37St. Louis County3.7-0.4 pts
43Bates County3.6-0.3 pts
43Cedar County3.6-0.9 pts
43Dade County3.6-0.4 pts
43Harrison County3.6-0.5 pts
43Macon County3.6-0.7 pts
43Oregon County3.6-1.1 pts
43St. Clair County3.6-0.7 pts
43Stoddard County3.6-0.9 pts
51Audrain County3.5-0.6 pts
51Camden County3.5-0.6 pts
51Howard County3.5-0.5 pts
51Jackson County3.5-0.6 pts
51Johnson County3.5-0.5 pts
51Marion County3.5-0.7 pts
51Scott County3.5-0.6 pts
51Webster County3.5-0.4 pts
59Clark County3.4-1.4 pts
59Jasper County3.4-0.4 pts
59Lawrence County3.4-0.7 pts
59Newton County3.4-0.6 pts
59Phelps County3.4-0.5 pts
64Bollinger County3.3-0.7 pts
64Cape Girardeau County3.3-0.4 pts
64DeKalb County3.3-1 pts
64Dent County3.3-0.5 pts
64Greene County3.3-0.5 pts
64Henry County3.3-0.5 pts
64Lafayette County3.3-0.5 pts
64Lincoln County3.3-0.4 pts
64Monroe County3.3-0.7 pts
64Vernon County3.3-0.7 pts
64Warren County3.3-0.2 pts
75Barton County3.2-1.3 pts
75Caldwell County3.2-0.8 pts
75Clinton County3.2-0.5 pts
75Cooper County3.2-0.5 pts
75Franklin County3.2-0.5 pts
75Jefferson County3.2-0.5 pts
75Mercer County3.2-0.6 pts
75Ralls County3.2-0.5 pts
75Randolph County3.2-0.6 pts
84Andrew County3.1-0.6 pts
84Boone County3.1-0.3 pts
84Holt County3.1-0.6 pts
84Miller County3.1-0.4 pts
84Ray County3.1-0.6 pts
84Saline County3.1-0.5 pts
90Callaway County3-0.4 pts
90Cass County3-0.6 pts
90Chariton County3-0.8 pts
90Christian County3-0.5 pts
90Clay County3-0.5 pts
90Gasconade County3-0.7 pts
90Maries County3-0.7 pts
90Montgomery County3-0.5 pts
90St. Charles County3-0.4 pts
99Cole County2.9-0.4 pts
99Linn County2.9-0.9 pts
99Livingston County2.9-0.7 pts
99Moniteau County2.9-0.5 pts
99Nodaway County2.9-0.6 pts
99Platte County2.9-0.5 pts
99Putnam County2.9-1.3 pts
99Scotland County2.9-0.9 pts
107Daviess County2.8-0.4 pts
107Gentry County2.8-1 pts
107Schuyler County2.8-0.8 pts
107Ste. Genevieve County2.8-0.6 pts
111Perry County2.7-0.6 pts
111Shelby County2.7-0.7 pts
111Worth County2.7-0.8 pts
114Osage County2.6-0.6 pts
115Atchison County2.4-0.7 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 May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Atchison County, with 2.4% in May 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