Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5How is St. Joseph run?
St. Joseph’s city government spent $90.7 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,283 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: St. Joseph didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how St. Joseph is run
Read from the city’s budget, meetings and official records.
2 upcoming meetings at town hall
From St. Joseph’s own agenda portal, checked daily. Agendas can change up to the meeting, so check before you go.
- Nov9City CouncilMonday · 5:30 pmOne Time EventMeeting page ↗Add to calendar
- Dec31City CouncilThursday · 6:00 pmOne Time EventMeeting page ↗Add to calendar
Recent meetings
- Oct26City CouncilMonday · 5:30 pmOne Time EventAgenda ↗Meeting page ↗
- Oct22Planning CommissionThursday · 5:30 pmMeeting page ↗
- Oct12City CouncilMonday · 5:30 pmOne Time EventAgenda ↗Meeting page ↗
- Sep28City CouncilMonday · 5:30 pmOne Time EventAgenda ↗Meeting page ↗
- Sep24Planning CommissionThursday · 5:30 pmMeeting page ↗
Most meetings are open to the public, and many have a public comment period at the start.
Agenda portal ↗About $1,283 per resident a year, or $3.52 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 22%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
St. Joseph didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for St. Joseph yet
Every year of St. Joseph’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 609 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $1,225 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.79% 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 St. Joseph’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 St. Joseph’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in St. Joseph →
Who’s in charge in St. Joseph
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 114 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 (70,656).
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.
St. Joseph School District
St. Joseph’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,605 per pupil, $7,094 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.
St. Joseph’s votes are counted by county
Missouri reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for St. Joseph alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Buchanan County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican63.2%22,606 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat35.2%12,598 votesOthers: 1.5% (539 votes).
Most votes in Buchanan County: Donald J Trump
Missouri: Trump 58.5%, Harris 40.1%
100% of St. Joseph lies in Buchanan County. Every 2024 race in Buchanan County is on the county’s page.
Buchanan 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 St. Joseph.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: stjosephmo.gov ↗
- 2Missouri HouseSt. Joseph is split between 2 districts
- 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 St. Joseph’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about St. Joseph’s government
How much does St. Joseph spend per resident?
About $1,283 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (St. Joseph didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $180.2 million.
What is the property tax rate in St. Joseph?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,225 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.79% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.85% across Missouri. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see stjosephmo.gov.
Who runs St. Joseph’s government?
See stjosephmo.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for St. Joseph yet.
How did St. Joseph vote in 2024?
Missouri counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for St. Joseph alone. Buchanan County, where 100% of St. Joseph lies, voted Trump 63.2%, Harris 35.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for St. Joseph?
618 full-time and 92 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $3.5M (about $41.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents St. Joseph in the state legislature?
St. Joseph is split among 2 State House districts, so your address decides. The Missouri Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Its State Senate district is District 34 (Tony Luetkemeyer). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
When is the next public meeting in St. Joseph?
The next posted meeting is City Council on Monday, November 9, at 5:30 pm, from the city’s own agenda portal.
Ask neighbors about St. Joseph’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 (for St. Joseph, the Bureau’s estimates); 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 →