Jasper County is a county in Missouri, United States, in the southwestern corner of the state near the Kansas line. It had a population of 122,761 at the 2020 census and covers 641 square miles (1,660 km2), of which 638 square miles (1,650 km2) is land, centred near 37°12′N 94°20′W.
Carthage is the county seat, and its postal code is 64836. Joplin is the county’s largest city, though part of Joplin extends south across the line into Newton County. Jasper County has 16 incorporated cities, 6 incorporated villages and 15 civil townships, and it observes Central Time.
Towns & Villages in Jasper County
Jasper County contains 57 named places on record: 16 incorporated cities (including county seat Carthage and hub city Joplin), 6 incorporated villages, and roughly 35 unincorporated communities and former settlements, many of them relics of the Tri-State lead-and-zinc mining district that once ran through the county’s north side. In the table below, City · seat marks the county seat, City and Village are incorporated municipalities, and Unincorp. covers unincorporated communities, former settlements and mining camps with no municipal government or formal population count.
| Place | Type | Pop. (2020) | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport Drive | Village | — | — |
| Alba | City | — | 64830 |
| Asbury | City | — | — |
| Atlas | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Avilla | Village | — | 64833 |
| Belleville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bowers Mill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brooklyn Heights | Village | — | — |
| Carl Junction | City | 8,143 | 64834 |
| Carterville | City | 1,855 | 64835 |
| Carthage | City · seat | 15,522 | 64836 |
| Carytown | Village | — | — |
| Central City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chitwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cossville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dudenville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Duenweg | City | 1,495 | 64841 |
| Duquesne | Village | 2,159 | — |
| East Joplin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fidelity | Village | — | — |
| Forest Mills | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Galesburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gulfton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Iron Gates | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jasper | City | 906 | 64755 |
| Joplin | City | 51,762 | 64801, 64802, 64803, 64804 |
| Kendricktown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Klondike | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Knights | Unincorp. | — | — |
| La Russell | City | — | — |
| Lakeside | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lone Elm | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maple Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maxville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Medoc | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Morgan Heights | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Motley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Neck City | City | — | 64849 |
| Oakland Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oronogo | City | 2,558 | 64855 |
| Parshley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Valley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Preston | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Prosperity | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Purcell | City | — | 64857 |
| Reeds | City | — | 64859 |
| Rex City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sarcoxie | City | 1,406 | 64862 |
| Scotland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Smithfield | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stringtown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Thoms | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tuckahoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tuckers Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Waco | City | — | — |
| Webb City | City | 13,031 | 64870 |
| West Joplin | Unincorp. | — | — |
Sarcoxie straddles the Jasper–Newton county line, and Joplin itself spreads across both Jasper and Newton counties — the figures above cover only the portions and populations attributed to Jasper County.
Townships
Jasper County is divided into 15 civil townships, most of them named for a town, family or mining camp within their bounds: Duval, Galena, Jackson, Jasper, Joplin, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, McDonald, Mineral, Preston, Sarcoxie, Sheridan, Twin Groves and Union. Missouri’s townships carry no independent local government today and the Census Bureau does not publish separate population totals for them, so no per-township figures are given here. Joplin Township takes in the city of Joplin and its near suburbs Duenweg and Duquesne; Jasper Township takes in the city of Jasper; and Sarcoxie and Preston townships take in the towns of the same name.
ZIP Codes
- 64801, 64802, 64803, 64804 — Joplin
- 64830 — Alba
- 64833 — Avilla
- 64834 — Carl Junction
- 64835 — Carterville
- 64836 — Carthage (also serves Carytown and Central City)
- 64841 — Duenweg
- 64849 — Neck City
- 64755 — Jasper
- 64855 — Oronogo
- 64857 — Purcell
- 64859 — Reeds
- 64862 — Sarcoxie
- 64870 — Webb City (also serves Duquesne)
Smaller villages and unincorporated communities such as Airport Drive, Asbury, Brooklyn Heights, Fidelity, La Russell and Waco share a neighboring town’s ZIP code rather than carrying one of their own.
Geography
Jasper County sits on the Springfield Plateau in the Ozark region’s far western edge, a landscape of rolling prairie and cherty upland broken by former open-pit and underground lead-zinc mines around Joplin, Webb City, Duenweg and Oronogo. Spring River and its tributary Center Creek drain the county’s northern half toward the Neosho River basin; Shoal Creek and its tributary Turkey Creek drain the southern half. Of the county’s 641 square miles, 2.8 square miles is water.
Jasper County borders Barton County to the north, Dade County to the northeast, Lawrence County to the east, Newton County to the south, and Cherokee County and Crawford County in Kansas to the west and northwest.
Demographics
Jasper County had 122,761 residents at the 2020 census. Joplin, with 51,762 people (the portion inside Jasper County), and Carthage, with 15,522, are its two largest communities and together hold more than half the county’s population. The county’s median household income runs below the Missouri median of $68,545, reflecting a manufacturing- and warehousing-heavy local job base rather than the state’s larger metro economies. Density works out to roughly 192 people per square mile of land.
Economy & Local Life
Joplin anchors the county’s economy as the retail, medical and logistics hub for a multi-county trade area straddling the Missouri–Kansas–Oklahoma corner, with Freeman Health System and Mercy Hospital Joplin among its largest employers. Missouri Southern State University and Ozark Christian College both operate campuses in Joplin. Carthage is known for its Precambrian pink granite quarries and for the ornate 1895 Jasper County Courthouse on its town square. Carthage also hosts the annual Maple Leaf Festival each October, one of the region’s larger civic festivals.
History
Jasper County was organized on January 29, 1841, and named for Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War soldier killed at the 1779 Siege of Savannah. Lead and zinc discoveries in the 1850s through early 1900s built Joplin, Webb City, Carterville, Duenweg and Oronogo into mining boomtowns, drawing the county’s population past 100,000 by the 1900s; many of the small unincorporated communities listed above began as mining camps serving that boom. On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado tore a six-mile path through Joplin, killing 158 people — the deadliest single U.S. tornado since 1947.
Getting There
Interstate 44 crosses the county through Joplin and Sarcoxie, and Interstate 49/US 71 runs north–south along the county’s west side through Joplin and Carthage. Joplin Regional Airport offers commercial air service.
- Carthage — 8 miles northeast of Joplin
- Webb City — 5 miles northeast of Joplin
- Carl Junction — 9 miles north of Joplin
- Sarcoxie — 16 miles northeast of Joplin
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Jasper County, Missouri?
It is in the southwestern corner of Missouri, bordering Kansas, roughly 160 miles south of Kansas City and 75 miles west of Springfield.
What is the population of Jasper County?
122,761 at the 2020 census, making it one of the more populous counties in southwest Missouri.
How big is Jasper County?
641 square miles (1,660 km2) in total, of which 638 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Jasper County?
Carthage is the county seat, though Joplin is the county’s largest city.
How many towns are in Jasper County?
16 incorporated cities and 6 incorporated villages, plus around 35 unincorporated communities and former mining camps.
What ZIP codes are in Jasper County?
Jasper County’s ZIP codes include 64801–64804 (Joplin), 64834 (Carl Junction), 64835 (Carterville), 64836 (Carthage), 64841 (Duenweg), 64855 (Oronogo) and 64870 (Webb City), among others listed above.
Why did Jasper County’s small towns grow up around mining?
The Tri-State lead-and-zinc district, mined from the 1850s to the mid-1900s, spawned dozens of company camps and boomtowns across the county’s north side; several, like Klondike, Medoc and Iron Gates, survive only as place names today.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.