Using Community Data
to Help Make Joplin the Best it Can Be!
With thriving businesses, a low cost of living and a supportive, family-friendly culture, we have a lot to be proud of in Joplin!
But knowing there’s always room for improvement, we’ve identified five categories that are key for ensuring future prosperity for ALL of Joplin’s citizens: Health, Housing, Education, Transportation and Childcare.
Within each category, we’re establishing “stepping stones” on the pathway to a brighter future for Joplin!
What can we do as business owners, community leaders and citizens to keep Joplin on a Path to Prosperity?
The first step is to become familiar with the issues that inhibit the ability for ALL residents to live prosperously… in other words: live healthy, peaceful, comfortable and secure lives.
From here, we can start to identify solutions—whether they involve further community education, building teams to tackle specific goals or other means of taking realistic action that can lead to meaningful change.
Health Barriers:
Prevalent diabetes, heart and lung disease, poor mental health and substance abuse.
- 1 in 10 people in our region have been diagnosed with diabetes.
- Heart disease is leading cause of death at regional, state and national levels.
- Mortality rate for lung disease is 50% higher than national average.
- Depression prevalence is not well-enough understood in our region. Suicide rate is higher than self-reported depression rate would suggest.
- 1.6% of Joplin residents have an alcohol use disorder.
- 3.3% have a substance use disorder.
Health Pathway:
Enable Joplin’s citizens to stay healthy so they can maintain jobs, attend school and attain better livelihoods.
Housing Pathway:
Ease the cost burden on Joplin’s low-income citizens so they can access stable, safe and affordable housing. Increase availability of low income rental units.
Housing Barriers:
Limited access to affordable housing for low-income families and increasing rent costs.
- 68% of low-income renters spend more than half their income on housing.
- Only 43 affordable/available homes per 100 renter households for low-income renters.
- Avg. 2 bdrm unit in Joplin: $867/month (~72 hrs./month spent towards rent at $12/hr. wage).
Education Barriers:
Low attendance, high dropout rate and inadequate reading proficiency.
- Joplin’s dropout rate nearly doubled between 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
- Dropout rate is nearly 6% higher than state average, and attendance rate is almost 10% lower than state average.
- Over 40% of Joplin’s 3rd graders MAP test below proficiency for English Language Arts.
- High mobility rate: 1 in 3 of our students move schools.
- 60% poverty rate.
Education Pathway:
Keep Joplin’s students engaged in classes, school activities, etc. to ensure more reach their high school graduation.
Transportation Pathway:
Develop, fund and improve access to public and private transportation options in Joplin.
Transportation Barriers:
Limited affordable, accessible transportation options available.
- More than 5,700 Joplin citizens lack access to a personal vehicle.
- Of citizens surveyed, 50% cannot afford car maintenance costs, 32% do not have a valid license or have poor credit, and 26% experience transportation problems.
Childcare Barriers:
Affordability and availability of childcare options, especially during crucial stages of development.
- 1 in 10 working MO parents have quit a job due to childcare issues.
- 1 in 3 parents changed/have not taken jobs due to childcare in the past year.
- 57% of parents voluntarily leave jobs when child is 2 or younger.
Childcare Pathway:
Find affordable childcare solutions so Joplin’s low-income parents can more easily seek or maintain employment.
