These are Missouri’s fastest growing cities. See how your area’s population is changing
Springfield, Missouri, is seeing the largest population growth of all cities in the state as of last year, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The agency’s population estimates for metro areas around the state — both large and small — show population growth of more than 3% in the southwestern Missouri city between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2023.
The population data offers a glimpse into which cities are growing and shrinking in Missouri. The metro areas of each city include the surrounding suburbs, not just the cities themselves. The map below includes data about both metropolitan and “micropolitan” areas, which surround large and small cities respectively.
Here’s a closer look at how the populations of 25 metro areas around the state are changing.
Which Missouri metro areas are growing the fastest?
Springfield added nearly 15,000 residents to its population between 2020 and 2023, census data shows. The 3.08% increase was the largest of the metro areas in the state. With a population of nearly half a million people in 2023, Springfield is the third-largest metro area in the state.
The next-highest increase was seen in Columbia, where around 5,600 new residents caused a population growth of 2.68%. West Plains, Joplin and Lebanon followed close behind with population increases of 2.35%, 1.93% and 1.77%, respectively.
The city with the overall largest population growth was Kansas City, which gained more than 26,000 new residents over the three-year period. However, the massive size of the metro, which is home to around 2.22 million people as of 2023, made this growth account for only a 1.19% population increase — in 10th place out of the 25 cities.
Other metro areas that saw population increases over the three-year period included Branson, Sedalia and Jefferson City.
Which Missouri metro areas are shrinking the fastest?
The small metro area of Kennett in the southeast corner of Missouri lost just under 1,200 residents between 2020 and 2023 — a 4.2% decrease in its 2020 population of around 28,200 people. That makes it the fastest shrinking metro area in the state by percentage.
The St. Joseph metro area north of Kansas City wasn’t far behind with a 2.6% population decline, totaling around 3,170 people. The next-greatest population declines were seen in and around Mexico, Maryville and Moberly.
Do you have more questions about demographics in Missouri or Kansas? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
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