Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-08-08
52 of Missouri's 115 counties — 45% — have no county-wide zoning. That is the 5th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Texas County (79/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 969 counties nationwide → Missouri: no building codes → Missouri: no codes, no zoning → Full Missouri profile →
52 of 115 Missouri counties · sorted by Index score
County board/office directory shows only a Planning Commission with no zoning department, zoning board, or zoning administrator, consistent with no adopted county zoning.
Texas County Board Directory ↗Missouri non-charter counties lack zoning authority absent voter adoption; the Dallas County government directory lists no planning/zoning body, indicating no county-wide zoning…
Dallas County MO Government Officials directory ↗Bollinger County has no adopted building code and, as a rural non-charter county, imposes no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas; land-use control is limited to incorporat…
County Building Codes for Missouri (data.mo.gov) ↗Macon County states plainly that it does not have any Planning and Zoning and does not operate countywide zoning for unincorporated areas.
Macon County Commission ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; Laclede County does not administer countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Laclede County MO - County Departments ↗Adair County's official government site lists no planning and zoning department, and it is a non-charter rural county with no county-wide zoning ordinance found.
Adair County, Missouri (official) ↗No county zoning ordinance appears among Randolph County's published ordinances; unincorporated areas are not subject to countywide zoning.
Randolph County MO — Ordinances ↗The county's official department directory lists no planning or zoning department (only a Health Department, Road Department, Commission, etc.); Phelps County does not maintain …
Phelps County, Missouri - official county website ↗The county government website shows no planning or zoning department, consistent with no countywide zoning in unincorporated Howell County (city zoning applies inside municipali…
Howell County Missouri (official county website) ↗The county has no planning & zoning department among its listed offices and no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas; land use is governed only by state construct…
Crawford County, Missouri - official county website ↗Dent County lists no planning/zoning department among its offices and has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as S…
Dent County, Missouri official website ↗The county's official department listing includes no planning/zoning office; no county zoning ordinance was found on Wright County's official sources.
Wright County MO - County Government / Courthouse Departments ↗Ozark County is a non-charter third-class rural county with no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas.
Missouri Association of Counties - Ozark County ↗Polk County's official office list includes no planning, zoning, or building/code-enforcement department; as a non-charter rural county it has no countywide zoning for unincorpo…
Polk County Courthouse - Departments ↗Oregon County is among the rural Missouri counties with no county zoning or land-use regulation for unincorporated areas.
Missouri Association of Counties - Oregon County ↗Cedar County has no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas; land-use control is handled only within incorporated municipalities.
Cedar County, Missouri - county government site ↗No county-wide zoning was identified for Shelby County; as a rural non-charter Missouri county with no adopted county codes, zoning applies only within incorporated cities (infe…
State of Missouri Data Portal, County Building Codes for Missouri ↗Inferred: no county planning/zoning department is listed for Linn County and Missouri non-charter rural counties are not zoned unless adopted by referendum.
Missouri Association of Counties - Linn County ↗Dade County has no countywide zoning department or ordinance for unincorporated areas; only incorporated cities such as Greenfield have local zoning.
Dade County, Missouri - Government Offices ↗No planning/zoning office or zoning permit appears among the county's listed permits and licenses, consistent with no countywide zoning in unincorporated Webster County.
Webster County, Missouri - Permits and Licenses ↗No county-wide zoning was identified for Ripley County; as a rural non-charter Missouri county that has adopted no county codes, zoning applies only within incorporated cities (…
State of Missouri Data Portal, County Building Codes for Missouri ↗No county building codes exist and the county lists no zoning ordinance or planning/zoning office, consistent with MO non-charter rural counties without countywide zoning.
Hickory County, Missouri - FAQ ↗The official county department directory contains no planning/zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Butler or Adrian.
Bates County Courthouse - Official County Website (department directory) ↗County department directory lists no planning/zoning department; Madison County has no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas (zoning exists only within cities suc…
Madison County, MO - Departments ↗No county planning and zoning office appears in the county officials listing; no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated Daviess County was found on an official source.
Daviess County, MO - Officials ↗The county has no countywide zoning ordinance; zoning is administered independently by individual townships (Windsor Township and Bogard Township are listed as having their own …
Henry County, Missouri - Information (Planning & Zoning) ↗No countywide zoning ordinance appears among Clark County's adopted ordinances; only municipalities such as Kahoka administer zoning.
Clark County, MO Ordinances ↗No county planning or zoning department exists in the county office directory; Cape Girardeau County has no countywide zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas (zoning applies …
Cape Girardeau County - County Offices ↗No planning or zoning office is listed among the county's official offices; zoning exists only within municipalities such as Poplar Bluff.
Butler County, MO Elected Officials ↗Gentry County lists no planning or zoning office among its offices, indicating no countywide zoning.
Gentry County Elected Officials ↗County states 'Andrew County has no zoning ordinances in the county' (zoning may exist only within incorporated cities).
Andrew County - Commissioner ↗No county planning/zoning department or comprehensive land-use zoning ordinance appears among Pike County's listed ordinances, consistent with Missouri rural counties without ad…
Pike County MO - County Ordinances ↗Washington County does not require permitting for sites outside the city limits of Potosi and has no countywide zoning; land-use controls apply only within incorporated municipa…
Meramec Regional Planning Commission - Washington County ↗The county FAQ explicitly states Audrain County does not have Planning & Zoning.
Audrain County FAQ and Related Links ↗Benton County's official website lists no planning/zoning department or countywide zoning ordinance; Missouri non-charter counties generally lack zoning in unincorporated areas …
Benton County, MO - Official County Website ↗No county planning or zoning department is listed; Saline County has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas.
Saline County MO - County Government ↗DeKalb County has no countywide zoning in unincorporated areas and lists no planning/zoning department; zoning exists only within incorporated cities such as Maysville.
DeKalb County, Missouri - Official County Website ↗Osage County has no countywide zoning for unincorporated areas, per the county clerk's official 'No Zoning or Building' document.
Osage County Clerk (official) - 'Osage Co. No Zoning or Building' ↗Perry County's official county services listing shows no planning/zoning department; unincorporated areas operate without county-wide zoning.
Perry County, MO - Official Website (County Services) ↗Carter County has no county planning or zoning department; unincorporated land is unzoned, as county zoning in a third-class Missouri county requires voter approval that has not…
State of Missouri Data Portal - County Building Codes for Missouri ↗No county zoning ordinance or planning/zoning department is published; the county development office handles infrastructure and grants, not land-use zoning.
Scott County MO - Office of County Development ↗The county has no planning or zoning laws, confirmed by its signed 'No Planning or Zoning' documents.
McDonald County Ordinances ↗The official county department directory contains no planning/zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Vienna.
Maries County, Missouri - Official County Website (department directory) ↗Cooper County has no countywide zoning; the county directs zoning inquiries to the municipality where the property is located.
Cooper County, Missouri official website ↗Unincorporated Johnson County has no planning and zoning regulations, except within the Whiteman Air Force Base military airport zoning area.
Johnson County MO EDC - Licensing/Permits ↗Unincorporated Nodaway County has no countywide zoning ordinance, though a few townships (e.g., Polk Township) have adopted subdivision/zoning rules.
Nodaway County, MO - Official Site ↗The county has no planning and zoning within its unincorporated areas.
Lincoln County, MO - Planning & Zoning ↗The county states plainly: 'Callaway County has not adopted planning or zoning.'
Callaway County - Planning and Zoning Information ↗The county states it has no zoning restrictions and no building codes or regulations.
Lawrence County MO Planning & Zoning ↗The county has no county planning & zoning office; zoning applies only within incorporated cities such as Rock Port, not the unincorporated county.
Atchison County - Local Government ↗The county's official government site lists no planning or zoning department; as a non-charter Bootheel county it does not administer countywide zoning in unincorporated areas.
Pemiscot County Government ↗No planning or zoning office appears among Dunklin County's listed offices, consistent with an unzoned rural Missouri county.
Dunklin County Missouri - County Offices ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Missouri state page for all 115 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
