Missouri
Buying Land in Scott County, Missouri
Scott County, seat Benton, sits in the Missouri Bootheel alongside Sikeston, and unincorporated land here carries no county zoning. What sets Scott County apart from most Missouri counties isn't zoning, though -- it's Bootheel-specific factors: intensively irrigated rice-and-cotton farmland, levee and drainage district assessments tied to specific parcels, and a location inside the seismically active New Madrid zone.
No county zoning: land use runs through the cities, not the county
Scott County has not adopted county-wide planning and zoning under RSMo Chapter 64 for its unincorporated area. In practice, that means there is no county zoning department, no countywide zoning map, and generally no conditional-use permit process for land outside a municipality -- questions about building, septic, and floodplain development on unincorporated ground route through the County Commission, the Health Department, and the county's floodplain administrator function directly. The county does operate an Office of County Development (131 S. Winchester, Benton; 573-545-3549), but its role is economic development and infrastructure -- attracting business and marketing the county -- not land-use regulation, so it isn't a substitute for a planning office.
Incorporated cities are where zoning actually happens in Scott County: Sikeston, the county's largest city, and the county seat of Benton both maintain their own zoning ordinances and building codes, along with smaller municipalities like Chaffee, Oran, Morley, Commerce, and Blodgett. Each city sets its own setback, lot-size, and use rules, so a parcel's regulatory status can change entirely depending on whether it sits inside or outside a specific city's limits -- confirm directly with the relevant city hall for any parcel near an incorporated boundary.
Drainage districts and levees: a Bootheel-specific due-diligence item
Scott County's Bootheel land is part of the Mississippi Embayment lowlands, historically swampland that was systematically drained in the early 20th century -- the Little River Drainage District alone reclaimed over a million acres across the region. That drainage and levee infrastructure didn't disappear once the swamp became farmland: under RSMo Chapters 245 and 246, drainage and levee districts can continue to tax the specific parcels they protect, separately from ordinary county property tax, to fund ongoing maintenance of ditches, pumps, and levees. A district's board reports assessment information to the Collector's office, which bills it alongside regular property tax.
For a land buyer, this means the sale price and the county-assessed property tax are not the whole cost picture -- a parcel inside an active drainage or levee district carries an additional, recurring assessment tied to the land itself, not the owner, so it transfers with the property. Ask the Scott County Collector's office (573-545-3548) and, if you can identify it, the relevant district directly whether a specific parcel carries an active assessment and what it has run in recent years before finalizing a purchase.
Farmland, floodplain, and the New Madrid Seismic Zone
Agriculturally, Scott County sits in the most intensively cropped part of Missouri -- Bootheel row-crop and irrigated agriculture, with corn, soybeans, cotton, and rice all in the mix, supported by irrigation infrastructure built out over the past century on the region's rich delta soils. That productivity is a genuine draw for farmland buyers, but it comes with the same lowland geology that made the land worth draining in the first place: standing water, high water tables, and flood risk along the Mississippi River and its tributaries are real considerations, and floodplain status should be checked through FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and the county's floodplain administrator (through the Emergency Management Agency, 573-545-3549) before building.
Scott County also sits inside the New Madrid Seismic Zone, one of the most seismically active areas east of the Rockies. State hazard assessments specifically call out southeast Missouri Bootheel counties -- Scott among them -- as facing elevated risk in a major New Madrid earthquake because loose alluvial sediment and a high water table tend to amplify ground shaking compared to areas with bedrock closer to the surface. This is not a reason to avoid the county, since the same is true for most of the Bootheel and a large swath of the central Mississippi Valley, but it is a real, well-documented factor to weigh when planning construction, evaluating insurance costs, and thinking about a structure's foundation design.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Scott County
Scott County has no zoning or planning department, so the County Commission is the practical first contact for most unincorporated land-use questions, with the Health Department handling septic and DNR handling wells at the state level. Drainage and levee district assessments are billed through the Collector's office but administered by the individual districts, which are not centrally listed on the county website -- confirm a specific parcel's district status directly with the Collector.
Other
Scott County Commission
General county governance and the first call for land-use questions in unincorporated Scott County given the absence of a zoning department.
Other
Scott County Office of County Development
Infrastructure and business-development questions for the county (not a land-use permitting office).
Environmental Health
Scott County Health Department
Environmental health services, including septic site evaluations and permits, private well water sampling.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Scott County Health Department -- Environmental Public Health Specialist
OWTS/septic system plan review, site evaluations, and permits.
Wells / Private Water
Missouri Department of Natural Resources -- Water Protection Program
Private well construction rules and certified well-contractor requirements statewide, including Scott County.
Floodplain / Stormwater
Scott County Emergency Management Agency
FEMA flood-zone questions and floodplain development for unincorporated Scott County.
Assessor / Property Tax
Scott County Assessor
Assessed value and property tax questions for a specific parcel.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Scott County Recorder of Deeds
Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel, including drainage/levee district records.
Other
Scott County Collector
Property tax billing, including drainage and levee district assessments billed alongside county tax.
Agricultural Extension
MU Extension in Scott County
Agricultural, irrigation, and land-management guidance for the county.
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- Scott County, Missouri — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Scott County Missouri (official site) — Scott County, Missouri Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Scott County Commission — Scott County, Missouri Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Office of County Development — Scott County, Missouri Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Directory of Offices — Scott County, Missouri Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Scott County Health Department -- Environmental — Scott County Health Department (accessed 2026-09)
- Scott County Health Dept. — Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (accessed 2026-09)
- On-site Septic Systems and Subdivisions — Missouri Department of Natural Resources (accessed 2026-09)
- Scott County — Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (accessed 2026-09)
- Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone — Missouri Department of Natural Resources (accessed 2026-09)
- Missouri's Bootheel Region is Fertile Ground — Farm Flavor (accessed 2026-09)
- Missouri Bootheel — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Levee Districts — Boone County, Missouri Collector (general Missouri levee-district assessment process, RSMo Chs. 245/246) (accessed 2026-09)
- MU Extension in Scott County — University of Missouri Extension (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09