The percent of Missouri's population whose income falls below the federal poverty guidelines increased from 11.8 percent in 1979 to 13 percent in 1989 according to the 1990 Census. The number of Missourians with income below the poverty line increased from 582,000 to 663,000 during the decade. Missouri poverty rates are close to those of the nation, which increased from 12. 4 percent in 1979 to 13 percent in 1989. Federal poverty level varies with household size and number of children in the household.
Poverty is both more prevalent and increasing more rapidly in Missouri's rural counties.
In Missouri's 98 non-metropolitan counties, the overall rate increased from 15.8 to 17.3 percent during the 1980s. There were 11 counties where the 1989 poverty rate exceeded 25 percent. All were rural and all except three were located in southeast Missouri. Four counties, Pemiscot, New Madrid, Mississippi, and Dunklin, were clustered in the Bootheel. Another four, Carter, Ripley, Oregon, and Wayne, were in an Ozark cluster just to the west.