Dexter makes Missouri’s top 10 on 2 lists
Dexter is ranked on 38 lists against the 256 Missouri towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 3.
Longer growing season than 98% of Missouri
Not better or worse, just Dexter’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Dexter does best on
Each list ranks every MO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Dexter marked.
2 spots from the top 3 for affordable rent
Lists where Dexter sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Dexter lands in the top half on 8 of 25 lists
Each dot is Dexter’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MO, the right end is last. Areas where Dexter does best come first.
Every MO list, and where Dexter lands
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Pine Lawn · 0.9 yrs
#70
Cheapest rent#1 Mountain View · $424/mo
#51
Lowest property tax#1 Mountain Grove · $438/yr
#92
Rent easiest to afford#1 De Soto · 20.3%
#5 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Park Hills · 63%
#122
Most trails#1 Park Hills · 3.3 mi / sq mi
#138
Most walkable#1 Pine Lawn · 213 / sq mi
#83 Getting around
F Shortest commute#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 9 min #112
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Richmond Heights · 16.6 per resident
#29
N
Most library borrowing#1 North Kansas City · 30.2 per resident
#28
N
Best libraries for kids#1 North Kansas City · 61.4 per child
#29 Health
Healthiest#1 Ladue · 99 / 100
#205
Lowest obesity#1 Town and Country · 23%
#119
Fewest smokers#1 Town and Country · 7%
#208
Most active#1 Glendale · 16%
#195
Fewest uninsured#1 Ladue · 3%
#174
Lowest depression#1 Black Jack · 19%
#199
Closest to a top hospital#1 Branson · 0.0 mi
#250 Safety
Safest#1 Odessa · 4.4
#97 People
Most educated#1 Glendale · 90.1%
#174
F
Youngest#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 20.5
#134
Oldest#1 Osage Beach · 59.4
#126
Most residents 65+#1 Forsyth · 36.4%
#57
Most kids#1 Glasgow Village · 40%
#89 
The number on the right is Dexter’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.