diff --git a/placement/cmd/status.py b/placement/cmd/status.py
index 08f672663..3400355bf 100644
--- a/placement/cmd/status.py
+++ b/placement/cmd/status.py
@@ -59,13 +59,16 @@ class Checks(upgradecheck.UpgradeCommands):
 
     @db_api.placement_context_manager.reader
     def _count_missing_consumers(self, ctxt):
-        # Count the total number of consumers.
-        num_consumers = ctxt.session.query(models.Consumer).count()
-        # Count the total number of unique consumers in the allocations table.
-        num_alloc_consumers = ctxt.session.query(
-            models.Allocation.consumer_id).group_by(
-                models.Allocation.consumer_id).count()
-        return num_alloc_consumers - num_consumers
+        allocation = models.Allocation.__table__
+        consumer = models.Consumer.__table__
+        return ctxt.session.execute(
+            sa.select([sa.func.count(
+                sa.distinct(allocation.c.consumer_id))])
+            .select_from(
+                allocation.outerjoin(
+                    consumer,
+                    allocation.c.consumer_id == consumer.c.uuid))
+            .where(consumer.c.id.is_(None))).fetchone()[0]
 
     def _check_incomplete_consumers(self):
         """Allocations created with microversion<1.8 prior to Rocky will not
diff --git a/placement/tests/functional/db/test_consumer.py b/placement/tests/functional/db/test_consumer.py
index 982b2093f..e2c2f6ccf 100644
--- a/placement/tests/functional/db/test_consumer.py
+++ b/placement/tests/functional/db/test_consumer.py
@@ -99,12 +99,21 @@ class CreateIncompleteAllocationsMixin(object):
     """Mixin for test setup to create some allocations with missing consumers
     """
 
+    @db_api.placement_context_manager.writer
+    def _create_leftover_consumer(self, ctx):
+        ins_stmt = CONSUMER_TBL.insert().values(
+            uuid=uuids.unknown_consumer,
+            project_id=999,
+            user_id=999)
+        ctx.session.execute(ins_stmt)
+
     @db_api.placement_context_manager.writer
     def _create_incomplete_allocations(self, ctx, num_of_consumer_allocs=1):
         # Create some allocations with consumers that don't exist in the
         # consumers table to represent old allocations that we expect to be
         # "cleaned up" with consumers table records that point to the sentinel
         # project/user records.
+        self._create_leftover_consumer(ctx)
         c1_missing_uuid = uuids.c1_missing
         c2_missing_uuid = uuids.c2_missing
         c3_missing_uuid = uuids.c3_missing