Jefferson County, Missouri Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Jefferson County, MO Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
B
Health Around averageHealthier than 75% of counties in Missouri
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B
Income Around average
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D
Education Well below averageBetter educated than 76% of counties in Missouri
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 229,447 | 6,186,340 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 345.4 | 88.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.40% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 40.5 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 88,305 | 2,507,647 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Jefferson County grew by 6.6% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 229,447 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Jefferson County is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 22.4% of residents. That is 1.1 points above Missouri as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 45,070 19.6% -1.6 pts
- Millennials 29–44 51,286 22.4% +1.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 50,304 21.9% +2.3 pts
- Boomers 61–79 39,246 17.1% -0.8 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Missouri, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.0% of the people living in Jefferson County and men 50.0%.
- Women 50.0% Missouri 50.7%
- Men 50.0% Missouri 49.3%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Jefferson County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Jefferson County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $82,868 | $70,801 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.52% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 3.2% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Jefferson County is about 17% higher than in Missouri.
Housing
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $178,434 | $145,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $978 | $1,033 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 82.2% | 68.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Jefferson County is about 15.2 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $978 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Jefferson County spend about 61 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 255 hours, about 10.6 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 30.7 | 21.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 61.3 | 41.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 255 | 175 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $7,919 | $5,415 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 11.5% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 12,407 | 7,545 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,883 | 923 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Missouri:
Saline County (11.9 min), Adair County (12.0 min), Nodaway County (12.1 min).
Slowest:
Bollinger County (33.1 min), Ray County (32.2 min), Maries County (31.9 min).
The average commute time in Jefferson County is 31 minutes, longer than the 21 minutes in Missouri.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Jefferson County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 21.5% | 28.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.58 | 2.40 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Missouri:
St. Louis County (0.4), Platte County (0.4), Boone County (0.4).
Lowest:
Bollinger County (0.2), Wayne County (0.2), Ripley County (0.2).
Health
Jefferson County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Jefferson County | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 76.4 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 14.9% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 22.2% | 22.8% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Missouri:
St. Charles County (0.8), Platte County (0.8), Boone County (0.8).
Lowest:
Scotland County (0.7), Ripley County (0.7), Pemiscot County (0.8).
Jefferson County, MO Compared With Nearby Counties
Jefferson County, MO is the 2nd largest of the 5 counties compared here, 229,447 residents against a local median of 51,016. Jefferson County, MO's commute, at 30.7 min, runs 22% above the 25.0 min typical of the counties around it. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
Median home price tells the same story from another angle: $178,434 against a local median of $217,864, 18% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: median household income runs ahead of the neighbourhood while commute runs behind it, so Jefferson County, MO is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread 13.5 min on commute, so Jefferson County, MO sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Jefferson County, MO has the 4th lowest commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, MO | 229,447 | $82,868 #3/5 | $178,434 #4/5 | 30.7 min #4/5 |
| Monroe County, IL | 35,033 | $103,327 | $208,158 | 28.2 min |
| St. Louis County, MO | 995,111 | $83,558 | $227,571 | 21.9 min |
| Washington County, MO | 23,470 | $56,625 | $229,237 | 31.4 min |
| St. Francois County, MO | 66,999 | $58,481 | $136,513 | 17.9 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Jefferson County, Missouri.
How big is Jefferson County, Missouri by population?
About 229,447 people live in Jefferson County, Missouri, in 88,305 households of 2.6 people on average. The median age is 40.5, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 3 years.
Is Jefferson County, Missouri mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Jefferson County, Missouri has 345 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 4.0 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Jefferson County, Missouri an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 2.2 times the median household income ($178,434 against $82,868), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $978 a month takes about 14% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is it hard to find a job in Jefferson County, Missouri?
Unemployment in Jefferson County, Missouri is only 3.2%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
How educated are people in Jefferson County, Missouri?
21.5% of adults in Jefferson County, Missouri hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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