Interstate 44 (I-44) in the US state of Missouri runs northeast from the Oklahoma state line near Joplin to I-70 in Downtown St. Louis. It runs for about 293 miles (472 km) in the state, and is the longest Interstate Highway in the state.

Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jasper and Newton Counties – even though it is not the county seat of either county. With a population of 51,762 as of the 2020 census, Joplin is the 13th most-populous city in the state. The city covers an area of 35.69 square miles (92.41 km2) on the outer edge of the Ozark Mountains. Joplin is the main hub of the three-county Joplin-Miami, Missouri-Oklahoma Metro area, which is home to 210,077 people making it the 5th largest metropolitan area in Missouri. In May 2011, a violent EF5 tornado killed more than 150 people and destroyed one-third of the city.