Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMO-JEFFERSON-CITY-MO · Jefferson City, MO 42,565 pop · income 46th pct · 18 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Jefferson City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Jefferson City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Cape Girardeau · lowest
54,870
Cape Girardeau · lowest
54,870 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #1
Comfort · near
67,202
Comfort · near
67,202 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #2
Somers · near
67,203
Somers · near
67,203 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #3
Jefferson City · this city
67,205
Jefferson City · this city
67,205 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #4
Umatilla · near
67,206
Umatilla · near
67,206 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #5
Orebank · near
67,207
Orebank · near
67,207 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #6
Wildwood · highest
157,750
Wildwood · highest
157,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Jefferson City on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 42,565.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Jefferson City - the verdict
Nationally, Jefferson City sits in the 46th percentile for household income and the 25th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
45th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
25th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Jefferson City, MO
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 42,565 residents in Jefferson City, a small city within Missouri. The typical household in Jefferson City brings in $67,205 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.7%. Home values in Jefferson City run a median of $208,000, and the median resident age is 39.1 years. About 36.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 25 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 55% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2373.1 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Missouri scores 90.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $972 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Missouri's average monthly utility costs around $219 (state average). Workers in Jefferson City report an average commute of 14.3 minutes, with 78.3% driving alone and 8.2% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.6 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Jefferson City's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime to schools and households to within-city variation to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Jefferson City, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Jefferson City?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Cape Girardeau (40,047 residents, $54,870 income); Wentzville (45,734 residents, $111,409 income); Chesterfield (49,591 residents, $133,380 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are French Valley, CA (42,550 residents); Coachella, CA (42,594 residents); San Bruno, CA (42,612 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Jefferson City?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Jefferson City?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2373.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 4% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What can 18 Census tracts reveal inside Jefferson City?
PlainCities matches 18 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Jefferson City?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 19 public schools within the city match. 36.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
10.7%
Bachelor's degree+
36.9%
Matched public schools
19
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Jefferson City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.3%. The reported mean trip to work is 14.3 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
78.3%
Work from home
8.2%
Public transit
0.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 20,545 workers age 16+.
Is Jefferson City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -39 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 25 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
42,528
2025 estimate
42,489
Period change
-0.1%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 10.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
C-
City profile score · Jefferson City, MO
51/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A-
90.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share B
36.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$67,205
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
334 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Jefferson City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 70/100 (B) · 36.9%
Household income: 45/100 (D) · $67,205
Poverty rate: 37/100 (F) · 10.7%
Violent crime: 28/100 (F) · 334 /100k
Where Jefferson City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Jefferson City's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Jefferson City highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Jefferson City, MO (this city): home $208,000, crime 2,373/100k
Coachella, CA : home $341,300, crime 1,840/100k
San Bruno, CA : home $1,199,400, crime 2,222/100k
Puyallup, WA : home $507,000, crime 4,244/100k
Cape Girardeau, MO : home $186,100, crime 3,080/100k
Wentzville, MO : home $302,700, crime 854/100k
Chesterfield, MO : home $458,000, crime 1,382/100k
University City, MO : home $285,100, crime 1,873/100k
How does Jefferson City compare to other US cities?
Here's how Jefferson City stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value45% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety25% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Missouri and the picture shifts: Jefferson City ranks #166 of 234 Missouri cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Jefferson City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Jefferson City near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Jefferson City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Jefferson City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#234 of 842
72nd percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#154 of 833
81st percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#405 of 875
53rd percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#104 of 875
88th percentile in Missouri
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 25th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Jefferson City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Jefferson City's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Jefferson City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$208,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 55% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Jefferson City's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,168 of 15,516
More affordable than 54% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,039 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.1×, Jefferson City sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,168 of 15,516 and #1,039 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$67,205Jefferson City, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Jefferson City, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Jefferson City, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)36.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
42,565
Median Income
$67,205
Median Home Value
$208,000
Median Age
39.1
Poverty Rate
10.7%
Labor force participation
58.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
36.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2373.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
333.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2039.4
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
19
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Jefferson City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
42,528 residents
2021
42,427 residents
2022
42,538 residents
2023
42,577 residents
2024
42,690 residents
2025
42,489 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
25
housing units authorized
Single-Family
19
detached homes
Multifamily
6
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
55
48
7
$13.9M
2020
56
52
4
$14.6M
2021
62
58
4
$16.3M
2022
24
20
4
$7.3M
2023
20
16
4
$5.5M
2024
25
19
6
$6.6M
Permit volume decreased 55% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
14.3 minutes
Drive Alone
78.3%
Carpool
8.9%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
8.2%
Other
2.3%
Based on 20,545 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Jefferson City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Jefferson City is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Jefferson City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Jefferson City compares to similar-size Missouri cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.