Newton County, MO

County Profile

60,118 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Newton County, MO.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

59out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 49% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 25% of 1,463 counties measured67
Schools939th of 1,377 counties measured36
GrowthTop 44% of 1,453 counties measured53
Housing affordabilityTop 12% of 1,462 counties measured84
ClimateTop 39% of 1,463 counties measured71
Physical resilience1,094th of 1,463 counties measured38
Access888th of 1,463 counties measured76
Economic stability978th of 1,463 counties measured47
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $66,301, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 39% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.4 students for every teacher.

103 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
60,118
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,301
Top 46% nationally
Density
96/sq mi
624.8 sq mi of land
Median age
40.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Newton County
Missouri
Metro area
Nearest major airport
XNA
43 mi · Northwest Arkansas Ntl
Median home value
$190,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 57% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 2.5% over the past year, to 27,800 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$52,09029th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$47,23515th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,2212024 ACS 5-Year$66,301Top 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5462024 ACS 5-Year$33,219Bottom 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$48,420Bottom 18%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%Bottom 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.8 minTop 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.5%Top 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.1%54th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202627,800Bottom 43%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.6%Top 14%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.5%Top 8%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202628,93943rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.9%Top 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%31st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 43%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%50th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.72.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202466k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,301 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Joplin, MO-KS

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers3,470$47,430
Registered Nurses2,670$74,930
Stockers and Order Fillers2,620$35,460
Retail Salespersons2,420$30,740
Cashiers2,400$29,050
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,050$34,800

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.4 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
24
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.4
across 22 of them
Math proficiency
39.2%
Bottom 31% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
48.1%
Bottom 31% in Missouri
The 12 largest of 24 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Neosho HighNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT1,53018.255%58%
Neosho Jr. HighNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT75315.430%39%
Middle Sch.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT70213.532%43%
South MiddleJOPLIN SCHOOLS59614.538%51%
George Washington Carver Elem.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT59116.452%52%
GranbyEAST NEWTON CO. R-VI58313.629%35%
Benton Elem.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT52313.437%47%
Seneca HighSENECA R-VII45013.212%47%
East Newton HighEAST NEWTON CO. R-VI44514.862%67%
TriwayEAST NEWTON CO. R-VI43113.524%31%
Seneca Elem.SENECA R-VII41714.432%42%
Stapleton Elem.JOPLIN SCHOOLS40013.352%58%

57.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Missouri’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 15% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 85.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 2.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,207 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.63% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $947, some 16% above the $817 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $947 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,900 a year, about 57% of the median household income here of $66,301.

The typical renter household here spends 25% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $817 a month.

A median home at $190,700 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,563, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
85.2

Prices here run about 15% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
25.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$947
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$817
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$190,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Newton County’s median household income of $66,301, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure202385.2Top 1%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.0%22nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+47.0%61st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+92.1%48th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 47%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.6%62nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±552024 ACS 5-Year24,86670th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$765Top 18%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,237Top 16%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$947Top 14%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$392024 ACS 5-Year$817Top 38%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,5682024 ACS 5-Year$190,70053rd percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$502024 ACS 5-Year$1,20733rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,1392024 ACS 5-Year$77,563Top 48%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.63%33rd percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.1%Top 27%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1172024 ACS 5-Year18233rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%58th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3402024 ACS 5-Year2,73764th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

53/ 100
Top 44% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 5% since 2020, reaching 61,519 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Newton County gained about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $52,090, above the $47,235 of households that moved out.

At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
103
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.7
Bottom 32% nationally
Year over year
+1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
34.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202462k59k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
41%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$52,090
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,235
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Jasper County, MO 1,424 people · 36% of arrivals
  2. McDonald County, MO 346 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  3. Benton County, AR 172 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Barry County, MO 109 people · 2.7% of arrivals
  5. Lawrence County, MO 103 people · 2.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Jasper County, MO 1,598 people · 44% of departures
  2. McDonald County, MO 230 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Barry County, MO 114 people · 3.1% of departures
  4. Benton County, AR 107 people · 2.9% of departures
  5. Greene County, MO 101 people · 2.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025116107
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (+4%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JOPLIN REGIONAL AIRPORT, 18.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

38 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Tornado and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormHigh
Strong windModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingElevated
DroughtModerate
Winter weatherModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveElevated
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, wildfire, lightning, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Newton County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 14.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.7 per 100,000 residents in Newton County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
10.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
17.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Newton County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Northwest Arkansas Ntl at 43 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.0%Top 41%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle43 miBottom 38%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%Top 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Northwest Arkansas NtlXNA43 mi8,801 ft
Springfield-Branson NtlSGF57 mi8,000 ft
Tulsa IntlTUL99 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
59
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Newton County, MO

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.