Stoddard County is a county in Missouri, United States, in the state’s southeastern Bootheel-adjacent lowlands. It had a population of 28,672 at the 2020 census and covers 829 square miles (2,150 km2) centred near 36°52′N 89°57′W.
Bloomfield is the county seat, and its postal code is 63825. The county has 8 incorporated cities, 2 villages and dozens of unincorporated communities. Stoddard County is in the Central time zone; its FIPS code is 29207.
Towns & Villages in Stoddard County
Stoddard County has 10 incorporated places (8 cities, 2 villages) plus a long list of unincorporated communities and former post-office settlements scattered across its farmland and swamp-drainage districts. Unincorp. below means an unincorporated place with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomfield | City · seat | 1,952 | 63825 |
| Dexter | City | 7,932 | 63841 |
| Bernie | City | 1,833 | 63822 |
| Advance | City | 1,270 | 63730 |
| Puxico | City | 842 | 63960 |
| Essex | City | 318 | 63846 |
| Bell City | City | 355 | 63735 |
| Dudley | City | 509 | 63936 |
| Baker | Village | — | — |
| Penermon | Village | — | — |
| Acorn Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Aid | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Aquilla | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ardeola | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Asherville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Avert | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Birds Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brownwood | Unincorp. | — | 63738 |
| Buffington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bunker Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Charter Oak | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Circle City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Clines Island | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cobb | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Curdton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cyrus | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Durnell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Eaglette | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Frisco | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Grayridge | Unincorp. | — | 63850 |
| Green Oaks | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Guam | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Heagy | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hickman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hills Store | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Himmel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hunterville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Idalia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Idlewild | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ives | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kinder | Unincorp. | — | — |
| LaValle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Leora | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Marco | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maulsby | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Messler | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mingo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Painton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Powe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pyletown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Randol | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Redd | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shady Dell | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shawan | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shreve | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Star | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stoddard | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Swinton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tillman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Toga | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Toppertown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Zadock | Unincorp. | — | — |
The unincorporated place called Stoddard, in eastern Stoddard County, is not the county seat — that is Bloomfield, roughly 15 miles to the west. The two are frequently confused because they share a name.
ZIP Codes
- 63825 — Bloomfield
- 63841 — Dexter
- 63822 — Bernie
- 63730 — Advance
- 63960 — Puxico
- 63846 — Essex
- 63735 — Bell City
- 63936 — Dudley
- 63850 — Grayridge (PO Box)
- 63738 — Brownwood (PO Box)
Most of the county’s small unincorporated communities use the postal address of the nearest city on this list rather than having a ZIP code of their own.
Geography
Stoddard County sits at the edge of the Ozark foothills, where the upland gives way to the flat, drained farmland of Missouri’s Bootheel. The eastern part of the county lies within the Mingo Swamp basin, drained by Crooked Creek, the St. Francis River and a network of Little River Drainage District ditches; the western part rises into low, timbered hills. Bordering counties are Bollinger to the north (Bollinger County), Cape Girardeau to the northeast (Cape Girardeau County), Scott to the east (Scott County), New Madrid to the southeast (New Madrid County), Dunklin to the south (Dunklin County), Butler to the southwest (Butler County) and Wayne to the northwest (Wayne County).
Demographics
Stoddard County’s population was 28,672 at the 2020 census, spread across a county with a density of about 35 people per square mile. Dexter, with roughly 7,900 residents, is by far the largest community, followed by Bloomfield with about 1,950. Median household income in the county runs below the Missouri median of $68,545, reflecting the county’s dependence on agriculture and light manufacturing rather than higher-wage metro employment.
Economy & Local Life
Farming dominates Stoddard County’s economy — soybeans, rice, corn and cotton on the drained bottomland, cattle and timber on the upland acres. Dexter, the county’s commercial hub, hosts light manufacturing plants and serves as a regional shopping and medical center for the surrounding Bootheel counties. Dexter’s annual Christmas parade and homecoming events, and Bloomfield’s county-seat courthouse square, anchor much of the county’s public life.
History
Stoddard County was organized on January 2, 1835, and named for Amos Stoddard, the U.S. Army officer who served as the first American commandant of Upper Louisiana following the Louisiana Purchase. Much of the county’s eastern lowland was swamp until the early 20th century, when the Little River Drainage District — one of the largest drainage engineering projects in U.S. history — cut hundreds of miles of ditches through the Bootheel, converting Mingo Swamp into farmland and giving rise to towns like Bernie and Puxico along the new rail and drainage lines.
Getting There
U.S. Route 60 crosses the county east–west through Bloomfield and Dexter, with Missouri Routes 25, 51 and 153 providing north–south links; a future extension of Interstate 57 is planned to follow the Route 60 corridor.
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri — 30 miles northeast
- Poplar Bluff, Missouri — 25 miles west
- Sikeston, Missouri — 20 miles southeast
- Jonesboro, Arkansas — 75 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, about 30 miles northeast of Bloomfield.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Stoddard County?
It is in southeastern Missouri, between the Ozark foothills and the Bootheel lowlands, about 30 miles southwest of Cape Girardeau.
What is the population of Stoddard County?
28,672 people, as of the 2020 census.
How big is Stoddard County?
829 square miles (2,150 km2), of which 823 square miles is land and 5.8 square miles is water.
What is the county seat of Stoddard County?
Bloomfield.
How many towns are in Stoddard County?
Ten incorporated places — eight cities and two villages — plus dozens of unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Stoddard County?
The main ones are 63825 (Bloomfield), 63841 (Dexter), 63822 (Bernie), 63730 (Advance) and 63960 (Puxico).
Is the community of Stoddard the county seat?
No. Stoddard is a small unincorporated community in the eastern county; the seat is Bloomfield, about 15 miles away.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.