Missouri follows national trends closely in the portion of people who participate in civil society in various ways (60.1% non–participants, 31.9% participants, and 8.0% leaders 12 ).

In Missouri, more than one quarter (27.7%) of group ofcers and committee members have never been to college. The state's score on this measure is more than ten percentage points higher than the national average (16.6%). About ve percent (5.2%) of Missouri's non–college–educated adults are group leaders, a score higher than the national average (3.5%). Thus, the data suggest that Missouri's civic leadership is more diverse in education and social class, and is therefore likely to be more representative of the population as a whole than in many other states. 13

Nationally, membership and participation in voluntary associations is highly predictive of civic behaviors. This makes sense, because formal membership, and especially taking a leadership role, generally provides people ample opportunities to serve the community and work with others.

Missouri follows this clear trend: more than four in ve leaders reported volunteering, while a minority of non–participants (about one in ve) reported that they volunteered. Having group afliations alone is also related to a higher volunteering rate in Missouri. Leaders are more likely to work with neighbors to improve the community than others. The data show a deep divide in community involvement between those who have group afliation and those who do not. This is a cause for concern, because Missouri is below the national average in group membership.

MISSOURI'S BLUE–COLLAR BASE FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Several of our ndings suggest that Missouri has a stronger “blue–collar” base for civic engagement than is typical of the nation as a whole. In general, trends in the relationship between education and civic participation in Missouri track the national trends; higher levels of education are associated with more participation. However, even though college–educated Missourians are more engaged than those without college experience, the education gap in civic participation in the state is smaller than elsewhere. Less–educated Missourians are participants and leaders at higher rates than residents of other states.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY EDUCATION
• Following national trends, levels of education are strongly related to all four measures of civic engagement in Missouri.
• Missouri's college graduates are nearly ve times more likely to volunteer than those without high school diplomas, and they are twice as likely as high school graduates to volunteer.
• College graduates in Missouri are nine times more likely to have attended a public meeting than those without high school diplomas, and they are three times more likely to have attended a public meeting than those with high school diplomas.
• Additionally, Missourians with college degrees are nearly two and a half times more likely to vote than those without high school diplomas, and they are 25% more likely to vote than those with high school diplomas.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY INCOME
• Although it is not as strong as the relationship with education, there is a positive relationship between civic engagement and income in Missouri. The relationship between income and civic engagement in Missouri follows national trends in this regard.
• Missourians with family incomes above $75,000 volunteered at a rate that was nearly 23 percentage points higher than those with family incomes lower than $35,000.
• Missourians with family incomes above $75,000 were nearly three times (or 12 percentage points) more likely to have worked with neighbors to x something in their communities than those with family incomes lower than $35,000. 14
• There is also an income gap in attending public meetings in Missouri. Missourians with family incomes above $75,000 are more than three times more likely to have attended a public meeting than those with family incomes lower than $35,000, and they are almost two times more likely to have attended a public meeting compared with those whose family incomes are between $50,000 and $74,999.
• There is also a large income gap in the voting rate in Missouri. The voting rate among Missourians with family incomes higher than $75,000 is nearly 30 percentage points higher than the voting rate among Missourians with family incomes lower than $35,000, nearly 20 percentage points higher than the voting rate among Missourians with family incomes between $35,000 and $49,999, and nearly 10 percentage points higher than the voting rate among Missourians with family incomes between $50,000 and $74,999.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY EMPLOYMENT STATUS
• The relationship between the indicators of civic engagement and employment status is not as straightforward as it is for education and income in Missouri.
• Employed residents are most likely to vote, and are somewhat more likely to volunteer and attend public meetings than unemployed Missourians or those who are not in the labor force.
• Unemployed residents are more likely to have worked to x something in their neighborhoods than those who are employed or not in the labor force.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY GENERATION
• In general, there is a curvilinear relationship between civic engagement and generational status in Missouri.
• Volunteering in Missouri generally increases across generations, but it dips slightly for the Long Civic Generation. Gen X'ers, Boomers, and members of the Silent Generation all participate at about the same rate, and Millenials have the lowest rates of volunteering.
• In Missouri, Baby Boomers are the most likely to have worked with neighbors to x something in their communities, and Millenials are the least likely to have done so.
• The percentage of Missouri residents who attend public meetings increases steadily across the younger generational cohorts, peaks with the Baby Boomer generation, and then steadily declines for the oldest generations. Millenials are the least likely to have attended a public meeting.
• The percentage of Missourians who vote rises steadily across the younger generational cohorts until peaking with the Baby Boomer generation, and then it steadily decreases for the older generations. Millenials were the least likely cohort to have voted in the 2008 presidential election.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY RACE 15
• There is a signicant race gap in levels of civic engagement among Missourians.
• Caucasians in Missouri are twice as likely to volunteer when compared with African–Americans.
• White Missourians were also nearly twice as likely to have worked with neighbors to x something in their communities when compared with African–Americans.
• A higher percentage of white Missourians attended public meetings when compared with African–Americans.
• African–Americans scored better than caucasians on voting in the 2008 presidential election. This mirrors the national trend; turnout was historically high for African–Americans across the country in this election.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY MARITAL STATUS
• There is a clear pattern in the relationship between civic engagement and marital status in Missouri. Married people are more engaged than those who are not married.
• In Missouri, married residents are more likely than single Missourians, or Missourians of other marital statuses, 16 to volunteer, to work with their neighbors to x something in their community, to attend public meetings, and to vote.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY METRO AREA 17
• There are some differences in civic engagement among Missouri's three largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and between the overall rates for Missouri's metro and rural areas.
• The Springeld metro area has higher rates of volunteering than either Kansas City or St. Louis and a higher rate than the average for all metro areas.
• Springeldians also have a higher rate of working with their neighbors to x something in their community than residents of Kansas City and St. Louis and a higher rate than the average for all metro areas.
• Kansas City, St. Louis, and Springeld all have about the same levels of attending public meetings, and they are all slightly above the average for all of Missouri's metro areas.
• Springeld has the highest rate of voter turnout, followed by Kansas City and St. Louis.