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 View$1,200/mo

Typical home $207K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.67% · or rent about $424/mo · Housing →

St. James$1,410/mo

Typical home $242K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.72% · or rent about $695/mo · Housing →

The difference: $210 a month, about $2,600 a year, between St. James and Mountain View.

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

St. James places higher on 16 of 23 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

–Mountain ViewNot graded CSt. JamesSafer than 25% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+Mountain ViewBetter than 70% of districts in the state A−St. JamesBetter than 83% of districts in the state

Health

DMountain ViewHealthier than 9% of U.S. towns CSt. JamesHealthier than 31% of U.S. towns

6Mountain View

16St. James

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 151 towns #109#4 Most-used librariesLibraries · 50 towns #3#31 Most library borrowingLibraries · 50 towns #8#35 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 261 towns #217#86 Fewest smokersHealth · 261 towns #213#101 Most remote workersWork · 255 towns #207#116 Most educatedPeople · 261 towns #239#146 HealthiestHealth · 261 towns #213#122

Left end = #1 in Missouri. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Mountain View’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 ViewSt. James

Snow a year6″17″

January low—22°F

July high—89°F

Growing season (days)—207d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)62nd 20th

Outdoors & history

Mountain ViewSt. James

Trails1 mi 9 mi

Conserved land0%3.1%

Settled1888 —

National Register places—1

Archive photos4 —

Community

Mountain ViewSt. James

Library hours a week46 hrs 51 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 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

70 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Mountain ViewMO St. JamesMO

Mountain View ↔ St. James70 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 ViewSt. James

People

Population 2,658Lowest 3,916Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -6.8%Lowest MO: +2.8% -6.7%Highest MO: +2.8%

Median age 47.4±9.7Lowest 22% above MO 49.3±14.5Highest 26% above MO

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

Kids under 18 18.6%±4.6Lowest MO: 22.3% 23.2%±6.8Highest MO: 22.3%

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

Age 65+ 27.9%±6.5Highest MO: 17.9% 22.9%±5.3Lowest MO: 17.9%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 11.7%Lowest MO: 32.4% 20.3%Highest MO: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.7%±1.7Lowest MO: 5.7% 4%±2.4Highest MO: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $38,942±$13kLowest 45% below MO $53,453±$10kHighest 24% below MO

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $123,500±$24kLowest 46% below MO $142,000±$13kHighest 38% below MO

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $424±$93Lowest 59% below MO $695±$175Highest 33% below MO

Property taxmedian, yearly $822Lowest 58% below MO $1,017Highest 48% below MO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 58.6%±20.7Highest MO: 45.6% 50%±16.5Lowest MO: 45.6%

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

Below poverty line 29.4%Highest MO: 12.6% 19.4%Lowest MO: 12.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 60%Highest MO: 68.1% 58.1%Lowest MO: 68.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1977Highest 1 yr older than MO 1976Lowest 2 yrs older than MO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minLowest 22% below MO 20 minHighest 13% below MO

Work from home 4.5%±3.4Lowest MO: 13% 9.5%±5.9Highest MO: 13%

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

Work in townworking residents 23.5%Highest 19.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 20.3 miHighest 11.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.21Lowest 2.01Highest

Top workplaceoutside town West Plains (14%)Rolla (23%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in St. JamesFew work in Mountain View

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 3.1%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 1.1 miLowest 9.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 2.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 48.5Lowest 64.9Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #123 of 226 in MO #54 of 226 in MO

School district MOUNTAIN VIEW-BIRCH TREE R-IIIST. JAMES R-I

High school in town None in townST. James High

Students per teacherat that high school — 13.4

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 View neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mountain View’s Town Square.

St. James neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to St. James’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Mountain View

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Versailles2,610 people · $118K homes

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Bethany Township3,312 people · $122K homes

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Houston2,226 people · $114K 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 View vs St. James

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $210 more a month in St. James

St. James places higher on 16 of 23 MO lists

What daily life feels like in each

70 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mountain View and St. James

Towns like Mountain View

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