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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-BOLIVAR-MO · Bolivar, MO 10,996 pop · income 12th pct · 8 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Bolivar
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bolivar on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Byromville · lowest
44,583
Byromville · lowest
44,583 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #1
Laurel · near
44,593
Laurel · near
44,593 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #2
Sharon · near
44,595
Sharon · near
44,595 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #3
Golf Manor · near
44,598
Golf Manor · near
44,598 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #4
Bolivar · this city
44,603
Bolivar · this city
44,603 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #5
Twisp · near
44,607
Twisp · near
44,607 median HH income
28.2% of the leader · rank #6
Brandywine · highest
158,258
Brandywine · highest
158,258 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Bolivar on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 10,996.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Bolivar - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Bolivar lands in the 12th percentile for household income and the 56th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
12th
percentile, household income
39th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
56th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Bolivar, MO
Missouri's Bolivar is a small town, with 10,996 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Bolivar households earn a median of $44,603 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 12.3%. Home values in Bolivar run a median of $188,700, and the median resident age is 33.4 years. Educational attainment runs 25.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 49.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 188 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 1006% from five years earlier. Bolivar reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1197.6 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Bolivar's yearly average temperature at 56.0°F with 46.4 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Missouri at 90.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $972 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Missouri run around $219, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bolivar's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to schools and households to within-city variation to housing and income to reported crime to population change to work and mobility to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bolivar, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Bolivar?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Kearney (10,696 residents, $102,523 income); Bridgeton (11,372 residents, $73,320 income); Bellefontaine Neighbors (10,562 residents, $48,354 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Brandon, SD (10,996 residents); Elgin, TX (10,996 residents); North Bellport, NY (10,999 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 25.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
How far does income reach against housing in Bolivar?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Bolivar?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1197.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 47% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1024.0
Violent rate
173.6
Total reported rate
1197.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,191 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +11.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 188 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+11.0%
2025 estimate
11,994
2020 estimate
10,803
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Bolivar?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.1%
Work from home
9.5%
Drive alone
74.5%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,388 workers age 16+.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 56.0°F, with 46.4 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Missouri is 50.6 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
56.0°F
Annual precipitation
46.4 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
50.6
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A-
90.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime C-
174 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
25.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
12.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,603
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bolivar profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Violent crime: 53/100 (C-) · 174 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 50/100 (C-) · 25.5%
Poverty rate: 31/100 (F) · 12.3%
Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,603
Where Bolivar sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Bolivar's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Bolivar highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Bolivar, MO (this city): home $188,700, crime 1,198/100k
Brandon, SD : home $317,300, crime 448/100k
Elgin, TX : home $267,900, crime 1,642/100k
Beachwood, NJ : home $307,500, crime 824/100k
Kearney, MO : home $275,200, crime 825/100k
Bridgeton, MO : home $234,100, crime 6,407/100k
Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO : home $92,500, crime 3,693/100k
Maryville, MO : home $178,900, crime 1,910/100k
Smithville, MO : home $272,500, crime 891/100k
How does Bolivar compare to other US cities?
Where Bolivar sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income12% higher than other cities
Home value39% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety56% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Missouri and the picture shifts: Bolivar ranks #100 of 234 Missouri cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bolivar against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bolivar near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bolivar ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bolivar only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#606 of 842
28th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#190 of 833
77th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#343 of 875
60th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#211 of 875
76th percentile in Missouri
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
12th percentile nationally for median household income · 56th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Bolivar's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Bolivar's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Bolivar's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$188,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 61% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Bolivar's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,332 of 15,516
More affordable than 27% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,167 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.2×, Bolivar sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,332 of 15,516 and #2,167 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$44,603Bolivar, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Bolivar, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bolivar, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
10,996
Median Income
$44,603
Median Home Value
$188,700
Median Age
33.4
Poverty Rate
12.3%
Labor force participation
49.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1197.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
173.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1024.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
56.0°F
Annual Precipitation
46.4"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Bolivar's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
10,803 residents
2021
10,971 residents
2022
11,211 residents
2023
11,392 residents
2024
11,593 residents
2025
11,994 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
188
housing units authorized
Single-Family
84
detached homes
Multifamily
104
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
17.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
17
8
9
$2.4M
2020
26
22
4
$5.8M
2021
29
23
6
$5.2M
2022
70
38
32
$11.3M
2023
78
60
18
$13.3M
2024
188
84
104
$27.0M
Permit volume increased 1006% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.5%
Carpool
7.7%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
6.5%
Work from Home
9.5%
Other
1.7%
Based on 4,388 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bolivar. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bolivar is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bolivar sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bolivar compares to similar-size Missouri cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.