What is the poverty rate in Missouri?
Updated monthly
About 12.3% of Missouri’s population in 2024. The poverty rate is the percentage of people whose household income falls below the poverty threshold set by the government. It measures the percentage of people in households that don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. In 2024, 745,363 people in Missouri were considered in poverty.
12.3%
of the population (2024)
745K
people living under the poverty line (2024)
Based on data from the American Community Survey dating back to 2010, Missouri's poverty rate hit a peak in 2012 of 16.2%. Its lowest point was in 2023 at 12%. The state's poverty rate was 12.3% in 2024, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous year.
In 2024, 12.3% of Missouri population were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate
While the poverty rate shows the overall trend, the total number matters because many aid programs and funding decisions are based on how many people are in poverty, not just the percentage. In 2024, 745,363 people living in Missouri were in poverty — down 21.4% from the 2012 peak of 947,792.
In 2024, 745,400 people in Missouri were in poverty.
People living under poverty line
Poverty doesn’t affect all groups equally. Rates vary widely by demographic group, family type and location.
From 2014 to 2024, the poverty rate for children under 18 in Missouri decreased from 21.1% to 15.4%. During the same period, the poverty rate for adults under 65 years decreased from 14.9% to 11.5%. For those older than 65, the poverty rate increased from 9% to 11%.
In 2024, 15.4% of children in Missouri were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group
Among racial or ethnic groups in Missouri during 2024, six had a higher poverty rate than the state’s overall rate: American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race), some other race, and two or more races.
Three had a lower than average poverty rate: Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.
Over the previous ten years, the poverty rate for the some other race population shifted the most, decreasing from 28.2% in 2014 to 19.7% in 2024.
In Missouri, the poverty rate for the some other race population decreased from 28.2% in 2014 to 19.7% in 2024.
Poverty rate by race or ethnicity
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Missouri counties ranged from 4.7% in St. Charles County to 27.4% in Pemiscot County. The poverty rate in the state’s largest county — St. Louis County — was 9.6%.
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Missouri counties ranged from 4.7% to 27.4%.
Poverty rate
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
