Missouri Information and Facts

Official Website: http://www.state.mo.us/

Income

The population of Missouri in 2002 was 5,669,544. Its rank was 17th in the nation. (The District of Columbia is included for ranking purposes.)

Per Capita Personal Income

In 2002 Missouri had a per capita personal income of $28,512. This per capita personal income ranked 31st in the United States and was 92 percent of the national average, $30,906. The 2002 per capita personal income reflected an increase of 2.1 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.2 percent. In 1992 the per capita personal income of Missouri was $19,349 and ranked 25th in the United States. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of per capita personal income was 4.0 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 4.0 percent.

Total Personal Income

In 2002 Missouri had a total personal income of $161,648,491. This total personal income ranked 19th in the United States. In 1992 the total personal income of Missouri was $100,945,053 and ranked 17th in the United States. The 2002 total personal income reflected an increase of 2.7 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 2.3 percent. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of total personal income was 4.8 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.2 percent.

Components of Personal Income

Total personal income includes net earnings by place of residence; dividends, interest, and rent; and total personal current transfer receipts received by the residents of Missouri. In 2002 net earnings accounted for 65.8 percent of total personal income (compared with 65.0 in 1992); dividends, interest, and rent were 17.9 percent (compared with 20.4 in 1992); and personal current transfer receipts were 16.3 percent (compared with 14.6 in 1992). From 2001 to 2002 net earnings increased 2.0 percent; dividends, interest, and rent increased 0.4 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased 8.1 percent. From 1992 to 2002 net earnings increased on average 4.9 percent each year; dividends, interest, and rent increased on average 3.5 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased on average 6.0 percent.

Employment Earnings

Earnings of persons employed in Missouri increased from $121,347,792 in 2001 to $123,878,483 in 2002, an increase of 2.1 percent. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.5 percent. The average annual growth rate from the 1992 estimate of $76,902,593 to the 2002 estimate was 4.9 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.3 percent.

Area - Missouri ranks 21st in size among the 50 states. Its area of 180,545 sq km (69,709 sq mi) includes 2100 sq km (811 sq mi) of inland water. The state's distances at their maximum are 587 km (365 mi) from east to west and 513 km (319 mi) from north to south. The mean elevation is about 250 m (about 800 ft).

Climate - The climate throughout Missouri is humid. Summers are hot. July temperatures over the state range between 24° and 27° C (76° and 80° F). The average July day reaches a high of 32° C (90° F) or higher and a low of between 18° and 21° C (65° and 70° F). Heat waves with temperatures above 38° C (100° F) are common. Hot weather lasts from June to September. Most of the state has a frost-free growing season from April into October. Winter temperatures vary considerably more among different parts of the state than summer temperatures. The average January temperature is about -4° C (about 24° F) in the most northerly areas and between 2° and 3° C (36° and 38° F) in the extreme south. The typical January day in the north ranges between a low of -9° C (16° F) and a high of 2° C (36° F). In the south it ranges between -2° and 9° C (28° and 48° F). However, the weather is quite variable. In the depth of winter in any part of the state there may be warm days above 10° C (50° F) and sometimes even above 16° C (60° F). They may be followed by cold waves in which the temperature drops to -18° C (0° F) and below. All of the state except the southeast experiences some temperatures below -18° C (0° F) during winter, but cold snaps do not last very long. The average annual rainfall in Missouri ranges from about 860 mm (about 34 in) in the northwestern corner of the state to just over 1270 mm (50 in) in the Southeastern Lowland. In the summer, however, the northwest is for a few months the wettest part of the state. Summer precipitation tends to occur in short intense thunderstorms, while winter precipitation occurs as rain, sleet, or snow. Northern Missouri receives about 510 mm (about 20 in) of snow during winter. The south averages about 250 mm (about 10 in) of snowfall during winter.

State Flag

State Flower - Hawthorn

State Capitol - Jefferson City
Missouri's present constitution was adopted in 1945 and is the fourth since Missouri became a state in 1821. It has provisions for initiative and referendum. A constitutional amendment may be proposed by a majority vote of each house of the state legislature or by initiative, and it must be ratified by a majority vote of the electorate.

Famous People

Bernarr MacFadden physical culturist, Mill Springs
Betty Grable actress, Saint Louis
Bill Bradley basketball player, Crystal City
Burt Bacharach songwriter, Kansas City
Casey Stengel baseball player, Kansas City
Charles M. Russell painter, artist St. Louis
Charles Stark Draper inventor, Windsor
Dale Carnegie teacher of public speaking, Maryville
Dennis Weaver actor, Joplin
Dick Van Dyke actor, West Plains
Edwin Hubble astronomer, Marshfield
Eugene Field author, poet, Saint Louis
George Washington Carver educator, agricultural chemist, Diamond Grove
Geraldine Page actress, Kirksville
Ginger Rogers dancer, actress, Independence
Gladys Swarthout soprano, Deepwater
Grace Bumbry soprano, Saint Louis
Harry S. Truman U.S. president, Lamar
Jack S. Kilby inventor, Jefferson City
James C. Penney merchant, Hamilton
James Fergason inventor, Wakenda
James Langston Hughes poet, Joplin
James W. Fulbright senator, Sumner
Jane Darwell actress, Palmyra
Jean Harlow actress, Kansas City
Jeanne Eagels actress, Kansas City
Jesse James outlaw, Centerville
John Goodman actor, Affton
John Huston film director, Nevada
John J. Pershing army leader, pershing rifles, Linn County
Josephine Baker singer, dancer, Saint Louis
Marianne Moore poet, Saint Louis
Mark Twain author, Florida
Marlin Perkins TV host, zoo director, Carthage
Martha Jane Canary (Calamity Jane) frontierswoman, Princeton
Mary Margaret McBride TV hostess, Paris
Nellie Tayloe Ross first woman elected governor of a state, Saint Joseph
Omar Nelson Bradley five-star general, Clark
Pearl White actress, Greenridge
Redd Foxx actor, comedian, Saint Louis
Robert Altman film director, Kansas City
Robert Cummings actor, Joplin
Robert D. Maurer inventor, St. Louis
Robert Russell Bennett composer, Kansas City
Roy Wilkins civil rights leader, Saint Louis
Rush Limbaugh communicator, Cape Girardeau
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) author, Florida
Sara Teasdale poet, Saint Louis
Sarah Caldwell opera director, conductor, Maryville
T. S. Eliot poet, Saint Louis
Ted Shawn dancer, choreographer, Kansas City
Thomas Hart Benton painter, Neosho
Vincent Price actor, Saint Louis
Virgil Thomson composer, Kansas City
Wallace Beery actor, Kansas City
Walter Cronkite TV newscaster, Saint Joseph
William Bent fur trader, pioneer, Saint Louis
William Burroughs writer, Saint Louis
William Lear aviation inventor, Hannibal
Yogi Berra baseball player, Saint Louis