63901 — Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 63901. Its median home value runs 27% above Poplar Bluff as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity2,670th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured36
SchoolsTop 35% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured62
GrowthTop 35% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured58
Housing affordabilityTop 34% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured73
ClimateTop 32% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
Physical resilience2,428th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured30
Access2,956th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured57
Economic stability2,930th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured21
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.1% and the Opportunity signal places 63901 in the bottom 14%. The unemployment rate is published for Poplar Bluff, MO, which contains 63901, rather than for 63901 alone.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.2 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

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
35,324
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,152
Bottom 16% nationally
Density
124/sq mi
285 sq mi of land
Median age
38.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Poplar Bluff
Missouri
Nearest major airport
BYH
62 mi · Arkansas Intl
Median home value
$151,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Poplar Bluff, MO, which contains 63901, is 5.1% — higher than in all but 24% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Poplar Bluff, MO, which contains 63901, grew 0.6% over the past year, to 15,903 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,152 is lower than in 84% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsButler County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$45,8644th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftButler County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$47,2445th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,7982024 ACS 5-Year$51,152Bottom 16%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3632024 ACS 5-Year$26,750Bottom 17%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year19.5%Bottom 18%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.3 minTop 14%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.0%Bottom 31%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%65th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentPoplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 202615,903Bottom 12%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Poplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Bottom 34%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Poplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Top 23%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forcePoplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 202616,76112th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.4%Bottom 19%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%71st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Poplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 2026−2.0%Top 1%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment ratePoplar Bluff, MO’s figureJuly 20265.1%Bottom 24%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%22nd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202451k44k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,152 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Poplar Bluff, MO, the city containing this ZIP code.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.2 students for every full-time teacher across 12 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.2
across 12 of them
Math proficiency
44.2%
Top 47% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
53.9%
Top 39% in Missouri
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Poplar Bluff HighPOPLAR BLUFF R-I1,41616.526%46%
Poplar Bluff Middle SchoolPOPLAR BLUFF R-I93212.644%45%
Poplar Bluff Jr. HighPOPLAR BLUFF R-I73513.131%45%
O'neal Elem.POPLAR BLUFF R-I34412.362%67%
Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Ctr.POPLAR BLUFF R-I33312.8——
Oak Grove Elem.POPLAR BLUFF R-I31713.882%82%
Lake Road Elem.POPLAR BLUFF R-I30012.582%77%
Poplar Bluff Early Childhood CPOPLAR BLUFF R-I29517.4——
Eugene Field Elem.POPLAR BLUFF R-I2279.177%87%
W. E. Sears Youth Ctr.DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE546.0——
Shady Grove SchoolMO SCHLS FOR THE SEV DISABLED394.910%10%
Sierra-Osage Treatment Ctr.DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE144.7——

76.9% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Missouri is up 53% over five years, and up 5.4% 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 $1,001 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $895, some 13% above the $791 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $895 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $35,800 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $51,152.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $791 a month.

A median home at $151,600 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,123, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$895
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$791
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$151,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 63901’s median household income of $51,152, 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
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Missouri’s figure2026 Q2+5.4%84th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Missouri’s figure2026 Q2+53.2%83rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Missouri’s figure2026 Q2+101.2%59th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 32%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.8%19th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2972024 ACS 5-Year15,63292nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$682Top 1%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,194Top 4%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$895Top 2%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$472024 ACS 5-Year$791Top 23%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,6432024 ACS 5-Year$151,60027th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$722024 ACS 5-Year$1,00119th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,6162024 ACS 5-Year$67,123Bottom 26%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%28th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 42%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1142024 ACS 5-Year13780th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%48th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.7%70th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3712024 ACS 5-Year1,81396th percentileof 33,7722024 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.

Development Momentum

58/ 100
Top 35% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 58 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Poplar Bluff, MO, which contains 63901, rather than for 63901 alone.

At 3.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Poplar Bluff, MO, which contains 63901, rather than for 63901 alone.

Units permitted
58
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.6
Top 45% nationally
Year over year
+222%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
36%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$45,864
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,244
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Ripley County, MO 215 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Wayne County, MO 143 people · 8.5% of arrivals
  3. Stoddard County, MO 125 people · 7.5% of arrivals
  4. Carter County, MO 97 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  5. Dunklin County, MO 90 people · 5.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Ripley County, MO 201 people · 12% of departures
  2. Stoddard County, MO 167 people · 9.8% of departures
  3. Wayne County, MO 99 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. Carter County, MO 90 people · 5.3% of departures
  5. Dunklin County, MO 77 people · 4.5% 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. This is the figure for Butler County, MO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Poplar Bluff, MO, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 50.8 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station POPLAR BLUFF MUNI AP, 7.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals50.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

30 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 37% of it.

EarthquakeElevated
Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
Winter weatherModerate
Strong windModerate
Inland floodingModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. 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.

Homicide
5.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
16.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
18.7
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 the county around 63901 (Butler County) rather than 63901 itself. 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. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Poplar Bluff carries the figure where its 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Arkansas Intl at 62 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.2%Bottom 35%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle62 miBottom 7%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 1%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%Bottom 30%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arkansas IntlBYH62 mi11,602 ft
Millington/MemphisNQA103 mi8,001 ft
Veterans Airport of Southern IllinoisMWA104 mi8,012 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
51
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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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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.

63901 vs Poplar Bluff

How this ZIP area compares with Poplar Bluff as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

63901
Poplar Bluff
Median household income: 63901 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$51,152
vs
$41,941
Per capita income: 63901 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$26,750
vs
$22,619
Population density
124/sq mi
vs
1,204/sq mi
Median home value
$151,600
vs
$119,800
Median gross rent: Poplar Bluff is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$791
vs
$760
Homeownership rate
62.8%
vs
53.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 63901 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
17.0%
vs
14.4%
Poverty rate: 63901 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
19.5%
vs
19.9%
Median age
38.1
vs
37.3

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.