DEMOGRAPHICS / AT A GLANCE

Missouri State Facts

Population
5,987,580

Total Area
69,709 square miles

Land Area
68,898 square miles

Water Area
811 square miles

Capital
Jefferson City

Highest Point 
Taum Sauk Mountain at 1772 feet

Lowest Point  
Saint Francis River at 230 feet

Largest Cities 
Kansas City, Saint Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia, Saint Joseph, Lee’s Summit, Saint
Charles, Saint Peters, Florissant

Area Codes
314, 417, 573, 636, 660, 816

Topography    
Rolling hills, open, fertile plains, and well-watered prairie north of the Missouri river; south of the river land is rough and hilly with deep, narrow valleys; alluvial plain in the southeast; low elevations in the west.

Border States
Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Statehood
August 10, 1821

State Motto
Salus populi suprema lex esto (Let the good of the people be the supreme law.)

State Song
“Missouri Waltz”

State Tree
Flowering Dogwood

State Animal
Missouri Mule

State Bird
Bluebird

State Flower
Hawthorn

Mississippi River Facts
The City of St. Louis lies on the western bank of the Mississippi River, about 10 miles from the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. This prime location has made St. Louis the busiest inland port on the Mississippi River. Through St. Louis, the river is approximately 2,000 feet wide and flows at 3.5 miles per hour. Stretching 2,348 miles from Minnesota to Louisiana, the river’s upper portion contains 29 locks and dams. An average of 80 million tons of cargo — including grain, coal, petroleum products, iron and steel — pass through St. Louis annually.