Ashland ranks #10 in Missouri for safety
Ashland is ranked on 34 lists against the 256 Missouri towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 11.
The lists Ashland does best on
Each list ranks every MO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Ashland marked.
1 spot from the top 10 for growth
Lists where Ashland sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Ashland lands in the top half on 14 of 21 lists
Each dot is Ashland’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MO, the right end is last. Areas where Ashland does best come first.
Cooler summers than 84% of Missouri
Not better or worse, just Ashland’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Every MO list, and where Ashland lands
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
Healthiest#1 Ladue · 99 / 100
#19
Lowest obesity#1 Town and Country · 23%
#26
Fewest smokers#1 Town and Country · 7%
#28
Most active#1 Glendale · 16%
#13
Fewest uninsured#1 Ladue · 3%
#39
Lowest depression#1 Black Jack · 19%
#51
Closest to a top hospital#1 Branson · 0.0 mi
#122 Safety
Safest#1 Odessa · 4.4
#10 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Osage Beach · 57.2%
#184
N
Most new homes#1 North Kansas City · 27.0 per 1,000
#21
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Versailles · +110.5%
#158
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Forsyth · 13.6 per home
People
Most educated#1 Glendale · 90.1%
#37
F
Youngest#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 20.5
#162
Oldest#1 Osage Beach · 59.4
#94
Most residents 65+#1 Forsyth · 36.4%
#186
Most kids#1 Glasgow Village · 40%
#149 
Getting around
F Shortest commute#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 9 min #154
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Pine Lawn · 0.9 yrs
#201
Cheapest rent#1 Mountain View · $424/mo
#196
Lowest property tax#1 Mountain Grove · $438/yr
#194
Rent easiest to afford#1 De Soto · 20.3%
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Park Hills · 63%
#220
Most trails#1 Park Hills · 3.3 mi / sq mi
Most walkable#1 Pine Lawn · 213 / sq mi
#195 
The number on the right is Ashland’s spot. All of Missouri’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every MO list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.