These Are The 10 Poorest Cities In Missouri For 2018

Missouri brings to mind images of Jefferson City, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you’ll find in the good ole US of A.

However, like all states, Missouri has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Missouri that could use a helping hand.

To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 129 places in Missouri with more than 5,000 people.

We were left with this set of the ten poorest places in the Show Me State for 2018:

1. Charleston (Photos)
2. Caruthersville (Photos)
3. Berkeley (Photos)
4. Jennings (Photos)
5. Kennett (Photos)
6. Kirksville (Photos)
7. Monett (Photos)
8. Park Hills (Photos)
9. Dexter (Photos)
10. Lebanon (Photos)

Again, this isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

And according to the facts, Charleston is the poorest place in Missouri for 2018.

Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the richest places in Missouri or the most dangerous.

For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.

How We Determined The Poorest Places In Missouri For 2018

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the ‘poorest places’. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2012-2016 American Community Survey:

• Poverty Level
• Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
• Unemployment Rate

The ‘median household income adjusted for the cost of living’ attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they’d still feel poor.

The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.

After we collected the data for all 129 places with more than 5,000 people in Missouri, we ranked each place from 1 to 129 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a ‘Poor Score’ with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Charleston, crowned the ‘Poorest Place In Missouri For 2018’.

You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 129 places.

1. Charleston

Population: 5,855
Median Income: $24,203
Unemployment Rate: 17.7%
Poverty Rate: 39.4%
More on Charleston: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Charleston, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Missouri thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 5,855 people averages the 1st lowest median household income in Missouri and the 1st highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Caruthersville

Population: 5,941
Median Income: $26,849
Unemployment Rate: 18.4%
Poverty Rate: 33.2%
More on Caruthersville: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

The second poorest city in Missouri is Caruthersville.

The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 3rd highest in the Show Me State.

3. Berkeley

Population: 9,068
Median Income: $30,262
Unemployment Rate: 14.1%
Poverty Rate: 26.9%
More on Berkeley: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Placing as the third poorest city, Berkeley’s median income ranks as the 7th lowest.

And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 26.9% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Show Me State.

4. Jennings

Population: 14,749
Median Income: $31,981
Unemployment Rate: 21.4%
Poverty Rate: 24.7%
More on Jennings: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Jennings ranks as the fourth poorest place in Missouri.

The town ranks as having the 12th lowest median household income and the 20th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Kennett

Population: 10,500
Median Income: $29,569
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%
Poverty Rate: 30.7%
More on Kennett: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

The fifth poorest city in Missouri is Kennett.

The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 5th highest in Missouri.

Still not the best news for Kennett.

6. Kirksville

Population: 17,592
Median Income: $27,402
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
Poverty Rate: 33.5%
More on Kirksville: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Kirksville ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Show Me State.

It ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and the 39th highest unemployment rate.

7. Monett

Population: 8,954
Median Income: $36,599
Unemployment Rate: 12.3%
Poverty Rate: 28.9%
More on Monett: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Monett places as the seventh poorest city in Missouri.

The city of over 8,954 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Park Hills

Population: 8,666
Median Income: $33,333
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%
Poverty Rate: 29.9%
More on Park Hills: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Park Hills ranks as the eighth poorest city in Missouri.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 25th highest in the state.

User comment that mentions Park Hills: Not to mention PARK HILLS is in the PARKLAND ‘named because many large well known parks within close driving distance for horse back riding canoeing dirt bike or bike riding swimning walking camping fishing among other things. AND GENEROUS giving corteous people here too.NOTHING TO DO- maybe by NY standards’

Your comment could be here. Add a comment on a city or town.

9. Dexter

Population: 7,934
Median Income: $31,906
Unemployment Rate: 10.4%
Poverty Rate: 24.9%
More on Dexter: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

Dexter couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Missouri; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 11th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Dexter ranks as having the 19th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Missouri.

10. Lebanon

Population: 14,652
Median Income: $31,425
Unemployment Rate: 8.6%
Poverty Rate: 26.9%
More on Lebanon: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Missouri is Lebanon.

The city of 14,652 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Show Me State.

There You Have It – The Poorest Places In Missouri For 2018

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Missouri, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Missouri.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Missouri, according to data:

Richest: Glendale
2nd Richest: Ladue
3rd Richest: Town And Country

For more Missouri reading , check out:

10 Safest Places In Missouri

10 Most Dangerous Cities in Missouri

10 Most Ghetto Cities In Missouri

Detailed List Of The Poorest Cities In Missouri

Rank	City	Poverty Rate
1	Charleston	39.4%
2	Caruthersville	33.2%
3	Berkeley	26.9%
4	Jennings	24.7%
5	Kennett	30.7%
6	Kirksville	33.5%
7	Monett	28.9%
8	Park Hills	29.9%
9	Dexter	24.9%
10	Lebanon	26.9%
11	Poplar Bluff	25.5%
12	St. Louis	26.7%
13	Sullivan	19.9%
14	De Soto	22.9%
15	Maryville	32.5%
16	Macon	21.3%
17	Moberly	22.7%
18	Bellefontaine Neighbors	24.1%
19	Sedalia	21.9%
20	Springfield	25.9%
21	Bolivar	20.9%
22	Clinton	25.9%
23	Rolla	28.9%
24	Sikeston	22.0%
25	Aurora	16.4%
26	Warrensburg	27.9%
27	West Plains	27.7%
28	Ferguson	21.0%
29	Mexico	19.4%
30	Carthage	28.5%
31	Dellwood	18.3%
32	Harrisonville	17.9%
33	Nevada	24.3%
34	Hannibal	20.1%
35	Fulton	18.3%
36	Warrenton	26.0%
37	Cape Girardeau	24.4%
38	Joplin	18.5%
39	St. Ann	15.5%
40	Branson	20.9%
41	Waynesville	18.5%
42	St. Robert	18.0%
43	Marshfield	16.6%
44	Independence	17.8%
45	St. Joseph	20.1%
46	Hazelwood	14.5%
47	Cameron	19.2%
48	Richmond	22.2%
49	Grandview	17.1%
50	Bowling Green	22.0%
51	Bonne Terre	10.8%
52	Neosho	23.2%
53	Chillicothe	23.6%
54	Union	13.5%
55	Festus	12.7%
56	Webb City	17.1%
57	Kansas City	18.3%
58	Bridgeton	14.8%
59	Overland	17.5%
60	Marshall	19.1%
61	Raytown	15.5%
62	St. John	12.1%
63	Maplewood	14.2%
64	Columbia	23.6%
65	Black Jack	13.3%
66	Trenton	23.2%
67	Boonville	15.8%
68	Ozark	12.1%
69	Odessa	17.5%
70	University City	16.5%
71	Pevely	22.7%
72	Excelsior Springs	15.9%
73	Jackson	15.0%
74	Jefferson City	15.7%
75	Florissant	8.6%
76	Farmington	13.5%
77	Savannah	12.3%
78	Gladstone	14.2%
79	Republic	15.8%
80	Nixa	12.6%
81	Pacific	17.0%
82	Perryville	9.7%
83	Arnold	10.0%
84	Troy	11.7%
85	Belton	10.6%
86	Pleasant Hill	11.7%
87	Maryland Heights	10.3%
88	Smithville	6.2%
89	Washington	11.1%
90	St. Charles	10.6%
91	Crestwood	6.3%
92	Liberty	7.3%
93	Shrewsbury	8.6%
94	Greenwood	9.1%
95	Blue Springs	9.2%
96	Oak Grove	7.9%
97	Clayton	9.2%
98	Valley Park	10.4%
99	Willard	7.6%
100	Richmond Heights	6.7%