What is the poverty rate in Missouri?
Refreshed monthly
The poverty rate was about 11.5% of Missouri’s population as of 2025. 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 2025, 703,900 people in Missouri were considered in poverty.
11.5%
of the population (2025)
704K
people living under the poverty line (2025)
The state's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2025, the lowest based on data from the American Community Survey dating back to 2010. It was 0.8 percentage points lower than the previous year. Missouri's poverty rate hit a peak in 2012 of 16.2%.
In 2025, 11.5% of Missouri's population were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate, 2010–2025
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 2025, 703,900 people living in Missouri were in poverty — down 25.7% from the 2012 peak of 947,800.
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In 2025, 703,900 people in Missouri were in poverty.
People living under poverty line, 2010–2025
Poverty doesn’t affect all groups equally. Rates vary widely by demographic group, family type and location.
What is the child poverty rate in Missouri?
From 2015 to 2025, the poverty rate for children under 18 in Missouri decreased from 20.2% to 13.7%. During the same period, the poverty rate for adults under 65 years decreased from 14.4% to 10.9%. For those older than 65, the poverty rate increased from 8.5% to 10.9%.
In 2025, 13.7% of children in Missouri were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group, 2015–2025
How does poverty differ by race in Missouri?
Among racial or ethnic groups in Missouri during 2025, seven 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); Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander; some other race; and two or more races
One had a lower than average poverty rate: 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 34.4% in 2015 to 14.1% in 2025.
In Missouri, the poverty rate for the some other race population decreased from 34.4% in 2015 to 14.1% in 2025.
Poverty rate by race or ethnicity, 2015–2025
What counties in Missouri have the highest and lowest poverty rates?
In 2020–2024, the poverty rate among Missouri counties ranged from 5.2% in St. Charles County to 29.6% in Pemiscot County. The poverty rate in the state’s largest county — St. Louis County — was 9.8%
In 2020-2024, the poverty rate among Missouri counties ranged from 5.2% to 29.6%.
Poverty rate
Poverty rate, by county (2024)
| 1. | Pemiscot County | 29.6% |
| 2. | Wayne County | 25.7% |
| 3. | Ripley County | 24.8% |
| 4. | Oregon County | 23.6% |
| 5. | Dunklin County | 22.0% |
| 6. | Adair County | 22.0% |
| 7. | Ozark County | 21.5% |
| 8. | Carter County | 20.8% |
| 9. | Worth County | 20.6% |
| 10. | St. Louis Independent City | 20.6% |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
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.
