A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Mountain Grove$1,160/mo

Typical home $205K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50% · or rent about $839/mo · Housing →

Chaffee$850/mo

Typical home $148K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.60% · or rent about $632/mo · Housing →

The difference: $310 a month, about $3,700 a year, between Mountain Grove and Chaffee.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Chaffee places higher on 10 of 19 MO lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Missouri ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

B−Mountain GroveSafer than 48% of U.S. towns –ChaffeeNot graded

Schools

A−Mountain GroveBetter than 75% of districts in the state C−ChaffeeBetter than 22% of districts in the state

Health

D−Mountain GroveHealthier than 3% of U.S. towns C+ChaffeeHealthier than 35% of U.S. towns

9Mountain Grove

10Chaffee

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest obesityHealth · 261 towns #221#52 Fastest growingGrowth · 260 towns #238#105 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 261 towns #217#86 Best schoolsSchools · 226 towns #74#187 Fewest smokersHealth · 261 towns #231#101 HealthiestHealth · 261 towns #237#110 Cheapest rentCost of living · 256 towns #94#8 Most activeHealth · 261 towns #239#152

Left end = #1 in Missouri. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mountain Grove’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Mountain GroveChaffee

Snow a year10″8″

January low22°F 24°F

July high87°F 90°F

Growing season (days)196d 202d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 76th

Outdoors & history

Mountain GroveChaffee

Trails0 mi —

Conserved land1.8%—

Settled—1905

National Register places3 —

Archive photos27 6

Famous people born here7 1

Community

Mountain GroveChaffee

Library hours a week38 hrs 43 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

143 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Mountain GroveMO ChaffeeMO

Mountain Grove ↔ Chaffee143 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Missouri average

Mountain GroveChaffee

People

Population 4,491Highest 3,026Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -9.9%Lowest MO: +2.8% +3.5%Highest MO: +2.8%

Median age 43.2±2Highest 11% above MO 40.9±5.2Lowest 5% above MO

Mountain Grove and Chaffee are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 22.7%±7.5Lowest MO: 22.3% 28.3%±6.3Highest MO: 22.3%

Chaffee and Mountain Grove are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 23.8%±5.6Highest MO: 17.9% 17.8%±4.9Lowest MO: 17.9%

Mountain Grove and Chaffee are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.3%Lowest MO: 32.4% 19.5%Highest MO: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.2%±1.9Lowest MO: 5.7% 3.6%±2.7Highest MO: 5.7%

Chaffee and Mountain Grove are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $37,415±$15kLowest 47% below MO $43,542±$16kHighest 38% below MO

Chaffee and Mountain Grove are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $87,200±$14kLowest 62% below MO $117,400±$12kHighest 49% below MO

Rentmedian gross, monthly $839±$228Highest 19% below MO $632±$75Lowest 39% below MO

Mountain Grove and Chaffee are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $438Lowest 78% below MO $707Highest 64% below MO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 45.4%±22Lowest MO: 45.6% 49.5%±19.5Highest MO: 45.6%

Chaffee and Mountain Grove are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 17.8%Highest MO: 12.6% 9.2%Lowest MO: 12.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 75.3%Highest MO: 68.1% 71.3%Lowest MO: 68.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1967Highest 11 yrs older than MO 1961Lowest 17 yrs older than MO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 14 minLowest 40% below MO 19 minHighest 19% below MO

Work from home 7.2%±5.8Highest MO: 13% 5.3%±4.2Lowest MO: 13%

Mountain Grove and Chaffee are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 23.5%Highest 9.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.3 miHighest 11.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.24Highest 0.39Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Springfield (11%)Cape Girardeau (33%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in ChaffeeFew work in Mountain Grove

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.8%Highest 1.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.1 miLowest 0.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 67.5Highest 65.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #74 of 226 in MO #187 of 226 in MO

School district MOUNTAIN GROVE R-IIICHAFFEE R-II

High school in town Mountain Grove HighChaffee JR.-SR. High

Students per teacherat that high school 15.7Highest 11.2Lowest

Missouri average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Mountain Grove neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Weekend Plans Ahead

1 neighbor in Mountain Grove can answer.

Chaffee neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Chaffee’s Town Square.

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Bordering Mountain Grove

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Clinton Township1,133 people · $235K homes

Towns like Mountain Grove

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Castor Township4,679 people · $102K homes

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Brookfield4,144 people · $102K homes

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Piney Township4,871 people · $124K homes

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Pike Township3,605 people · $122K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Mountain Grove vs Chaffee

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $310 more a month in Mountain Grove

Chaffee places higher on 10 of 19 MO lists

What daily life feels like in each

143 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Weekend Plans Ahead

Set another town beside Mountain Grove and Chaffee

Bordering Mountain Grove

Towns like Mountain Grove

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