How many people live in Missouri, Kansas? See latest Census data
Missouri and Kansas just keep growing.
The Show Me State gained close to 27,000 new residents between July 1, 2024 and 2025, while the Sunflower State added almost 12,000 new Kansans, according to Census estimates released in late January. Now, Missouri has 6,270,541 residents and Kansas has 2,977,220.
Updated population information by county, age and other demographic markers have not yet been released.
This means Missouri and Kansas populations grew by 0.43% and 0.4%, respectively, which outpaces the growth of the rest of the Midwest, which gained 0.35% of its population between July 1, 2024 and 2025.
This makes the Midwest the second-fastest growing region in the country during that time frame, behind the South. In addition, this was the first time this decade where more people moved to the Midwest than left it.
Missouri’s population has grown 1.88% since 2020, bypassing Maryland to become the 18th largest state. In that same timeframe, Kansas grew 1.33%, jumping ahead of Mississippi to become the 34th largest state.
As for the whole country, the United States’ population growth slowed, according to the Census Bureau. Immigration slowdowns are the reason.
Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections at the Census Bureau, explained in a press release, “With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today.”
[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
