Missouri Poverty Facts

The latest Missouri Poverty Facts

Missouri Poverty Rate by County
The 2018 Missouri statewide poverty rate is 13.2%—a decrease from 14% in 2016. This map shows the Missouri poverty rate by county from the US Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates released in fall of 2019. The poverty represents the percentage of individuals at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. For more information on poverty in Missouri, download the 2020 Missouri Poverty Report.

Measuring Poverty

Official Poverty Measure
The current official poverty measure was developed in 1963 and is based on the cost of the minimum food diet for various family sizes in today’s prices multiplied by 3. This official poverty calculation does not take into account the value of federal benefits, such as those provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and housing and energy assistance. Neither does it account for typical household expenses such as work expenses or child care.

Supplemental Poverty Measure
The Supplemental Poverty Measure considers family resources, such as income, along with benefits including SNAP, subsidized housing, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

2020 Poverty Guidelines
The poverty guidelines are determined by the Department of Health and Human Services and updated annually. The amounts are based on number of persons in a family per household. For families or households with more than 8 persons, $4,480 is added for each additional person. For 2020, poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and Washington DC are:

Persons/Household        Gross Income
1…………………………………………$12,760
2…………………………………………$17,240
3…………………………………………$21,720
4…………………………………………$26,200
5…………………………………………$30,680
6…………………………………………$35,160
7…………………………………………$39,640
8…………………………………………$44,120
US Department of Health and Human Services

Poverty at a Glance

12 Year Snapshot: Missouri Poverty Rate
Missouri’s poverty rate steadily increased from 13.3% in 2007 to 16.2% in 2012. Since 2012, the poverty rate has declined to 13.2% in 2018.

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13.2% of Missourians live below the federal poverty line.

US Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey

Five Elements of Poverty

Missouri CAN has identified five key factors that impact poverty—economic and family security, education, food and nutrition, health, and housing and energy. We call these the five elements of poverty. When there is struggle in one of these areas, the other areas in a person’s life suffer. Together these elements highlight poverty’s interconnected nature and the need for multi-dimensional solutions.


Economic and Family Security

Minimum Wage in Missouri
As of January 1, 2020, the minimum wage in Missouri is $9.45. Over the past 10 years, the minimum wage increased by $2.40, from $7.05 in 2011. Washington DC has the highest minimum wage in the US at $14.00, and several state have enacted gradual minimum wage increases to take effect over the next several years. Wyoming has the lowest minimum wage at $5.15 an hour. Six states do not have a state-mandated minimum wage. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Household Income
The median income of households in Missouri was $54,478 in 2018. An estimated 11.2% of Missouri households had income below $15,000 a year and more than 10% had income over $150,000.
US Census Bureau American Community Survey

Median Income
The median income for men in Missouri is $9,766 higher than for women. According to this data, median income for women is 81% of the median income for men. US Census Bureau American Community Survey

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$52,004 Median Income for Men

$42,238 Median Income for Women

US Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey

Education

Educational Attainment
In 2016, 11.2% of Missourians had educational attainment less than a high school diploma, and 31.1% had a high school diploma. With each level of education completed and more skills developed, the more access a person has to higher paying occupations. The percentage of Missourians with less than a bachelor’s degree was 72.4%. US Census Bureau

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Food and Nutrition

Food Insecurity: The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

13.0% National Food Insecurity Rate

USDA Economic Research Service

14.2% Missouri’s Food Insecurity Rate

USDA Economic Research Service

345,912 Missouri Households were food insecure in 2016

Food Research & Action Center


Health

Health Insurance Coverage Trend 

After reaching a high of 14.6% in 2009, the percent of Missourians without health insurance declined to 8.9% in 2016, which represented 531,923 Missourians. Uninsured rates have steadily increased since 2016. In 2018, 9.4% of Missourians did not have health insurance coverage. US Census Bureau American Community Survey

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Housing and Energy

What happens when your housing is unaffordable, affordable housing does not exist, or you face the choice between rent and food? What if you’re one paycheck or emergency away from eviction? In the worst case, you could be homeless. In many other cases, you will likely have to settle for substandard housing, including a home that is energy-inefficient.

Even with stable housing, there’s a strong correlation between homeownership and wealth. Young adults’ homeownership rate increases with household income. This effect is compounded by parental homeownership status. Income disparities also perpetuate disparities in housing. 

If the Black homeownership rate were the same today as it was in 2000, America would have 770,000 additional Black homeowners. Black homeowners have been the slowest to recover from the Great Recession, and their homeownership rate has decreased to below pre-crisis levels. Not only is housing important for immediate shelter and safety, it is also important for establishing long-term security and wealth.


Rural and Urban

There are differences in rural and urban communities as it relates to poverty. For one, over half of Missouri residents in rural areas of the state lack access to broadband at speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. In an ever-evolving digital age, access to broadband is necessary infrastructure for businesses and economic growth, as well as access for children to do homework and for families to manage life online.

But broadband access isn’t the only distinction between rural and urban counties. Food access, food security, access to medical care, and transportation are all influenced by location, particularly urban and rural places. 

Considering the differences between urban and rural poverty is imperative when working toward developing solutions that empower individuals and families forward and out of poverty. No two circumstances are the same, and geography plays a role in a family’s circumstance just as much as their background and family composition. 


What’s Already Working?

Many programs and services are already in place to help Missourians in need. These are a few of the programs and services helping Missourians:

9,015 Families receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

US Department of Health and Human Services

476,000 Recipients of Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Internal Revenue Service

46.3% of three-and four-year-olds enrolled in preschool (public or private) in 2018

US Census Bureau American Community Survey

260,185 Households receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits

US Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates

106,773 Missouri women and children received Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in FY2019

USDA Food and Nutrition Service

840,260 Total Number of Medicare beneficiaries in Missouri 2018.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

833,914 Children enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

176,800 People in 97,000 Missouri households use federal rental assistance to afford modest housing

Center on Budget and Public Priorities

123,733 Missouri households received Low Income Home Assistance Program (LIHEAP) assistance

US Department of Health and Human Services