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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-DEXTER-MO · Dexter, MO 7,906 pop · income 16th 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 Dexter
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Dexter on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Berkeley · lowest
40,654
Berkeley · lowest
40,654 median HH income
23.8% of the leader · rank #1
Ellijay · near
47,639
Ellijay · near
47,639 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #2
Mount Calm · near
47,639
Mount Calm · near
47,639 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #3
Dexter · this city
47,647
Dexter · this city
47,647 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #4
Autaugaville · near
47,652
Autaugaville · near
47,652 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #5
Pierson · near
47,652
Pierson · near
47,652 median HH income
27.9% of the leader · rank #6
Parkville · highest
170,794
Parkville · highest
170,794 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 Dexter 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: 7,906.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Dexter - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Dexter places in the 16th percentile for household income and the 15th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
16th
percentile, household income
22nd
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
15th
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: Dexter, MO
Dexter is a small town in Missouri, home to 7,906 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $47,647 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 14.2%. Home values in Dexter run a median of $132,700, and the median resident age is 38.0 years. About 17.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 51.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 5 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 62% from five years earlier. Dexter's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3105.9 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Missouri's average monthly utility costs around $219 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.6 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Dexter'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 population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to within-city variation to reported crime to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Dexter, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Is Dexter growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -96 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
How far does income reach against housing in Dexter?
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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Dexter?
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.
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Nevada (7,998 residents, $45,799 income); Parkville (8,022 residents, $170,794 income); Boonville (7,682 residents, $51,321 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cottage Grove, WI (7,906 residents); Siler City, NC (7,905 residents); Woodland Park, CO (7,909 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.
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.
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 Dexter?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3105.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 36% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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.
Total reported rate
3105.9
Violent rate
292.8
Property rate
2813.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
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.
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 17.1% 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.
Poverty estimate
14.2%
Bachelor's degree+
17.1%
Matched public schools
6
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Dexter?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 88.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Drive alone
88.6%
Work from home
3.7%
Public transit
0.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,022 workers age 16+.
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 F
293 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$47,647
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Dexter profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Violent crime: 34/100 (F) · 293 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 26/100 (F) · 17.1%
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.2%
Household income: 17/100 (F) · $47,647
Where Dexter sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Dexter'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 - Dexter highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Dexter, MO (this city): home $132,700, crime 3,106/100k
Cottage Grove, WI : home $401,900, crime 567/100k
Siler City, NC : home $154,900, crime 2,628/100k
Woodland Park, CO : home $489,400, crime 1,311/100k
Nevada, MO : home $100,600, crime 5,316/100k
Parkville, MO : home $557,100, crime 853/100k
Boonville, MO : home $173,400, crime 2,179/100k
Berkeley, MO : home $80,000, crime 9,009/100k
Brentwood, MO : home $276,100, crime 4,039/100k
Maplewood, MO : home $231,500, crime 7,452/100k
How does Dexter compare to other US cities?
Dexter measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income16% higher than other cities
Home value22% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety15% 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: Dexter ranks #190 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 Dexter 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 Dexter near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Dexter ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Dexter only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#549 of 842
35th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#363 of 833
56th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#281 of 875
67th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#379 of 875
56th 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
16th percentile nationally for median household income · 15th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Dexter's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Dexter'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 Dexter's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$132,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 78% 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
Dexter's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,501 of 15,516
More affordable than 65% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,787 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.8×, Dexter sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,501 of 15,516 and #4,787 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$47,647Dexter, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Dexter, 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 Dexter, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)51.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,906
Median Income
$47,647
Median Home Value
$132,700
Median Age
38.0
Poverty Rate
14.2%
Labor force participation
51.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3105.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
292.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2813.1
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.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Dexter's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
7,947 residents
2021
7,909 residents
2022
7,867 residents
2023
7,862 residents
2024
7,877 residents
2025
7,851 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
13
13
0
$1.6M
2020
2
2
0
$0.1M
2021
6
6
0
$1.3M
2022
4
4
0
$1.2M
2023
9
5
4
$0.6M
2024
5
5
0
$1.1M
Permit volume decreased 62% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
88.6%
Carpool
4.8%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
3.7%
Other
1.2%
Based on 3,022 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 Dexter. 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 Dexter 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 Dexter sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Dexter 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, 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.