Rodgers Theatre Building · Photo: Michael Gäbler · CC BY-SA 3.0Poplar Bluff spent more per resident in 2022 than 69% of similar cities
Poplar Bluff’s city government spent $15.2 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $936 per resident. Water and other utilities ($40.5 million) and the airport ($842,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Poplar Bluff is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
$1,069 per resident in 2022: more than 69% of them
Poplar Bluff’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,069 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 26 Missouri cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $885, and the middle half spent $696–$1,248. Poplar Bluff spent more than 69% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($3.6 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Missouri cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Poplar Bluff itself left out).
About $936 per resident a year, or $2.56 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 37%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Day-to-day spending is down 15% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Poplar Bluff reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,069 · 2023: $1,178 · 2024: $936.
full-time in March 2025, down from 132 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $796 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.66% of the home’s value, vs 0.85% across Missouri.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Poplar Bluff’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Poplar Bluff’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Poplar Bluff →
Who’s in charge in Poplar Bluff
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Poplar Bluff’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on poplarbluff-mo.gov ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 124 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (16,232).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Poplar Bluff R-I School District
Poplar Bluff’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $11,725 per pupil, $6,908 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Missouri districts overall: 54% local, 35% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Poplar Bluff’s votes are counted by county
Missouri reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Poplar Bluff alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Butler County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.5%14,549 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat17.7%3,160 votesOthers: 0.8% (151 votes).
Most votes in Butler County: Donald J Trump
Missouri: Trump 58.5%, Harris 40.1%
100% of Poplar Bluff lies in Butler County. Every 2024 race in Butler County is on the county’s page.
Butler County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Poplar Bluff.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: poplarbluff-mo.gov ↗
- 2Missouri HouseState representatives
- 3Missouri SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Missouri
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Poplar Bluff’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Poplar Bluff’s government
How much does Poplar Bluff spend per resident?
About $936 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,069 was more than 69% of 26 Missouri cities of 10,000–24,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Poplar Bluff?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $796 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.66% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.85% across Missouri. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see poplarbluff-mo.gov.
Who runs Poplar Bluff’s government?
See poplarbluff-mo.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Poplar Bluff yet.
How did Poplar Bluff vote in 2024?
Missouri counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Poplar Bluff alone. Butler County, where 100% of Poplar Bluff lies, voted Trump 81.5%, Harris 17.7% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Poplar Bluff?
131 full-time and 19 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $739,094 (about $8.9M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Poplar Bluff in the state legislature?
State Senate District 25 (Jason Bean) and State House District 152 (Hardy Billington). The House district also covers two neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Poplar Bluff’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →