Joplin, officially known as the City of Joplin, is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jasper and Newton Counties - even though it is not the county seat of either county (Carthage is the seat of Jasper County while Neosho is the seat of Newton County). With a population of 51,762 as of the 2020 census, Joplin is the 12th most-populous city in the state. The city covers an area of 35.69 square miles (92.41 km2) on the outer edge of the Ozark Mountains. Joplin is the main hub of the three-county Joplin-Miami, Missouri-Oklahoma Metro area, which is home to 210,077 people making it the 5th largest metropolitan area in Missouri. In May 2011, the city was hit by a violent EF5 tornado.