The 10 Dumbest Places In Missouri For 2026

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Show Me State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Missouri have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Missouri is the 27th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 99.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Missouri are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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The 10 Dumbest Places In Missouri

1. Jennings
2. Caruthersville
3. Aurora
4. Poplar Bluff
5. Kennett
6. Park Hills
7. Warrenton
8. Monett
9. Bonne Terre
10. Chillicothe

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 126 cities in Missouri to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Missouri reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Missouri
• Safest Places To Live In Missouri

The 10 Dumbest Places In Missouri For 2026

1. Jennings

Source: Wikipedia User User:LittletT889 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 12,918
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Jennings: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Caruthersville

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 5,326
% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Caruthersville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Aurora

Source: Wikipedia User Johnston9494 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,397
% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Aurora: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Poplar Bluff

Source: Wikipedia User Michael Gäbler | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 16,254
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Poplar Bluff: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Kennett

Source: Flickr User ? | Public Doamin

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 10,196
% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Kennett: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Park Hills

Source: Wikipedia User Grey Wanderer | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 8,678
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Park Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Warrenton

Source: Wikipedia User Paul Sableman | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,066
% Adult High School Dropout: 13.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Warrenton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Monett

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,873
% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Monett: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Bonne Terre

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Roanhaus | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,683
% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Bonne Terre: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Chillicothe

Source: Wikipedia User Americasroof | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,923
% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 17.0%
More on Chillicothe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Show Me State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Missouri:

• % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
• % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Missouri from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Missouri city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Missouri.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Missouri where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in Missouri are Jennings, Caruthersville, Aurora, Poplar Bluff, Kennett, Park Hills, Warrenton, Monett, Bonne Terre, and Chillicothe.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Missouri, according to science:

1. Glendale
2. Ladue
3. Brentwood

For more Missouri reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In Missouri
• Cheapest Places To Live In Missouri
• Most Dangerous Cities in Missouri
• Richest Cities In Missouri
• Safest Places In Missouri
• Worst Places To Live In Missouri
• Most Expensive Places To Live In Missouri

Dumbest Cities In Missouri For 2026