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Ham radio operators in Missouri: new licenses by county

14,954 licensed amateur radio operators; 466 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
22
New hams · last 12 months
466
▼ 10% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
14,954
Upgrades · 12 mo
230
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
137
Address updates · 12 mo
169
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
808

About ham radio in Missouri

466 people earned a first license in Missouri over the past 12 months, a 10% drop from the prior year. Missouri ranks #20 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. St. Louis County leads the state with 45 new hams. Among larger counties, Greene County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 48% of the state’s licensees, close to the U.S. average of 48%.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Missouri, October 2025 to September 2026 469 in total. Highest: 73 in May 2026. Lowest: 3 in October 2025. Down 10% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 3 new hams 3 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 54 new hams 54 Nov Dec 2025: 30 new hams 30 Dec Jan 2026: 24 new hams 24 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 35 new hams 35 Feb Mar 2026: 46 new hams 46 Mar Apr 2026: 63 new hams 63 Apr May 2026: 73 new hams 73 May Jun 2026: 48 new hams 48 Jun Jul 2026: 32 new hams 32 Jul Aug 2026: 37 new hams 37 Aug Sep 2026: 24 new hams 24 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Missouri
MonthNew hams
Oct 20253
Nov 202554
Dec 202530
Jan 202624
Feb 202635
Mar 202646
Apr 202663
May 202673
Jun 202648
Jul 202632
Aug 202637
Sep 202624
Total469

License classes

Active licensees in Missouri by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 7,19048%48%
General 3,85326%25%
Amateur Extra 3,12521%21%
Advanced 4663%3%
Novice / Other 3202%2%

Bar = Missouri share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 104 operators upgraded to General and 109 to Amateur Extra.

How Missouri compares

#20 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsMissouriU.S.
New hams, past 12 months31.232.3
Upgrades, past 12 months15.414.7
Expiring, next 6 months54.057.3

466 new hams in Missouri this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Missouri counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1St. Louis County45▼ 21%1,62927.6
2St. Charles County37▼ 16%1,02436.1
3Jackson County33▼ 43%1,64520.1
4Greene County24▲ 9%89226.9
5City of St. Louis20▲ 18%25379.1
6Jefferson County18▼ 22%53034.0
7Taney County18▲ 50%21284.9
8Jasper County140%30645.8
9Boone County13▼ 35%43030.2
10Cass County13▲ 18%37934.3

All Missouri counties

37 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Missouri counties

These 78 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 78 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adair County570
Andrew County290
Atchison County90
Audrain County471
Barton County275
Bates County460
Benton County871
Bollinger County321
Caldwell County500
Camden County1321
Carroll County290
Carter County150
Cedar County380
Chariton County100
Clark County60
Cooper County462
Crawford County711
Dade County362
Dallas County643
Daviess County450
DeKalb County250
Dent County461
Douglas County600
Dunklin County320
Gasconade County381
Gentry County130
Grundy County280
Harrison County180
Henry County791
Hickory County372
Holt County151
Howard County201
Iron County280
Knox County20
Lewis County110
Linn County380
Livingston County290
Macon County610
Madison County280
Maries County221
Marion County690
McDonald County491
Mercer County100
Miller County572
Mississippi County160
Moniteau County250
Monroe County150
Montgomery County281
Morgan County530
New Madrid County180
Nodaway County260
Oregon County121
Osage County224
Pemiscot County150
Perry County413
Pike County240
Putnam County70
Ralls County431
Randolph County554
Ray County840
Reynolds County100
Ripley County360
Saline County471
Schuyler County90
Scotland County20
Scott County564
Shannon County150
Shelby County90
St. Clair County321
Ste. Genevieve County450
Stoddard County391
Sullivan County90
Vernon County380
Warren County1100
Washington County462
Wayne County210
Worth County40
Wright County862

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Missouri

How many ham radio operators are in Missouri?

14,954 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Missouri as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Missouri last year?

466 people in Missouri received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Missouri counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: St. Louis County (45), St. Charles County (37) and Jackson County (33).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

99% of Missouri licensees could be matched to a county.