Jefferson City is a city of 42,488 people in Missouri. Getting to work takes 16 minutes on average. The foreign-born share is 4%. The typical home is worth $218,700, having more than doubled since 2000. Median rent is $802 a month. There are 1,178 people per square mile.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $66,371, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Mid-age
median age 38.9
US median: 38.9
Average education
39% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Jefferson City
What changed most since 1990
Hispanic share0.7% → 4.0%(+3.3 pts)US over the same years: +9.9 pts
Black share10.0% → 16.0%(+5.9 pts)US over the same years: +0.2 pts
Jefferson City's population equals 55% of Cole County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 77% of the county's. Its number of residents living in poverty equals 73% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)26.1%(559)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)19.1%(409)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era34.8%(747)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War5.7%(122)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 2,144 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Jefferson City, decade by decade
Jefferson City population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
35,494
$66,235
$147,124
27.5%
26.0
2000
39,636
$72,189
$177,976
30.8%
40.8
2010
43,079
$68,096
$193,488
32.9%
47.9
2020
43,228
$65,454
$195,623
33.1%
54.6
2024
42,488
$66,371
$218,700
38.7%
57.3
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
