St. Joseph, Missouri Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
St. Joseph, 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.
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C
Health Below average
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D
Income Well below average
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D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 67,188 | 6,186,340 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 1499.0 | 88.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.88% | 0.28% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 35.4 | 37.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 27,083 | 2,507,647 | 130,235,071 |
Population in St. Joseph declined by 6.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 67,188 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in St. Joseph is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 22.3% of residents. That is 1.2 points above Missouri as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 15,016 22.3% +1.2 pts
- Millennials 29–44 14,249 21.2% on par
- Gen X 45–60 12,892 19.2% -0.4 pts
- Boomers 61–79 11,276 16.8% -1.1 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 49.5% of the people living in St. Joseph and men 50.5%.
- Women 49.5% Missouri 50.7%
- Men 50.5% Missouri 49.3%
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Economy
St. Joseph has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $57,810 | $70,801 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.56% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 4.0% | 5.2% |
The median household income in St. Joseph is about 18% lower than in Missouri.
Housing
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $159,023 | $145,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $888 | $1,033 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 62.6% | 68.1% | 65.2% |
The median home price in St. Joseph is about 14.9 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $888 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in St. Joseph spend about 26 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 110 hours, about 4.6 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 13.2 | 21.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 26.4 | 41.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 110 | 175 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $3,408 | $5,415 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 13.0% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 4,452 | 7,545 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 1,489 | 923 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in St. Joseph is 13 minutes, shorter 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
St. Joseph has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 20.7% | 28.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.36 | 2.40 | 2.53 |
Health
St. Joseph has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | St. Joseph | Missouri Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.7 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 18.8% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 24.0% | 22.8% | 19.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about St. Joseph, Missouri.
How big is St. Joseph, Missouri by population?
About 67,188 people live in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 27,083 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 35.4, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 2 years.
How densely populated is St. Joseph, Missouri?
Averaged over its land area, St. Joseph, Missouri has 1,499 people per square mile, a density typical of urban and suburban areas. That is about 17 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in St. Joseph, Missouri?
The median home costs 2.8 times the median household income ($159,023 against $57,810), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $888 a month takes about 18% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How common is a college degree in St. Joseph, Missouri?
20.7% of adults in St. Joseph, 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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