Festus ranks #9 in Missouri for affordable rent
Festus is ranked on 39 lists against the 256 Missouri towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 7.
The lists Festus does best on
Each list ranks every MO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Festus marked.
Festus lands in the top half on 18 of 25 lists
Each dot is Festus’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MO, the right end is last. Areas where Festus does best come first.
More kids than 90% of Missouri
Not better or worse, just Festus’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
Festus out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Every MO list, and where Festus lands
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Osage Beach · 57.2%
#142
N
Most new homes#1 North Kansas City · 27.0 per 1,000
#25
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Versailles · +110.5%
#163
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Forsyth · 13.6 per home
#40 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Park Hills · 63%
#35
Most trails#1 Park Hills · 3.3 mi / sq mi
Most walkable#1 Pine Lawn · 213 / sq mi
#54 
Health
Healthiest#1 Ladue · 99 / 100
#142
Lowest obesity#1 Town and Country · 23%
#198
Fewest smokers#1 Town and Country · 7%
#134
Most active#1 Glendale · 16%
#117
Fewest uninsured#1 Ladue · 3%
#86
Lowest depression#1 Black Jack · 19%
#92
Closest to a top hospital#1 Branson · 0.0 mi
#25 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Pine Lawn · 0.9 yrs
#179
Cheapest rent#1 Mountain View · $424/mo
#117
Lowest property tax#1 Mountain Grove · $438/yr
#131
Rent easiest to afford#1 De Soto · 20.3%
#9 Safety
Safest#1 Odessa · 4.4
#52 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Richmond Heights · 16.6 per resident
#19
N
Most library borrowing#1 North Kansas City · 30.2 per resident
#22
N
Best libraries for kids#1 North Kansas City · 61.4 per child
#24 People
Most educated#1 Glendale · 90.1%
#116
F
Youngest#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 20.5
#93
Oldest#1 Osage Beach · 59.4
#165
Most residents 65+#1 Forsyth · 36.4%
#166
Most kids#1 Glasgow Village · 40%
#27 
Getting around
F Shortest commute#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 9 min #206
The number on the right is Festus’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.