Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMO-LAMAR-MO · Lamar, MO 4,290 pop · income 4th pct · 3 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 Lamar
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lamar on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Dawson · lowest
29,046
Dawson · lowest
29,046 median HH income
26.2% of the leader · rank #1
Andrews · near
34,879
Andrews · near
34,879 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #2
Lamar · this city
34,894
Lamar · this city
34,894 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #3
Ganado · near
34,896
Ganado · near
34,896 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #4
Palestine · near
34,896
Palestine · near
34,896 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #5
Earlington · near
34,904
Earlington · near
34,904 median HH income
31.5% of the leader · rank #6
McGovern · highest
110,778
McGovern · highest
110,778 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 Lamar 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: 4,290.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lamar - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Lamar lands in the 4th percentile for household income and the 9th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
4th
percentile, household income
15th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
9th
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: Lamar, MO
Missouri's Lamar is a small town, with 4,290 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Lamar report a median income of $34,894 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 29.5%. Typical homes in Lamar are valued around $114,800, and the median resident age is 39.6 years. About 16.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 47.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 7 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity). Lamar's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3708.9 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Lamar's yearly average temperature at 55.9°F with 48.9 inches of precipitation per year and 7.3 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Missouri scores 90.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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). Natural-hazard exposure scores 50.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lamar'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 climate and hazard context to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility to schools and households to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lamar, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Lamar?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 55.9°F, with 48.9 inches of precipitation and 7.3 inches of annual snowfall. 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.
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 Lamar?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 29.5%, 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. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Lamar?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Normandy (4,263 residents, $33,421 income); Scott City (4,354 residents, $61,581 income); High Ridge (4,209 residents, $75,040 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are McGovern, PA (4,290 residents); Adamsville, AL (4,291 residents); Long Hill CDP (Southeastern Connecticut County), CT (4,292 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.
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.
Population change
Is Lamar growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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 +73 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 7 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
+1.7%
2025 estimate
4,337
2020 estimate
4,264
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 91.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
3.1%
Drive alone
91.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,532 workers age 16+.
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 16.0% 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.
Matched public schools
4
Bachelor's degree+
16.0%
Poverty estimate
29.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lamar?
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 3708.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 63% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3616.1
Violent rate
92.7
Total reported rate
3708.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 29.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
F
City profile score · Lamar, MO
35/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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 B
93 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$34,894
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
29.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Lamar profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Violent crime: 73/100 (B) · 93 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 23/100 (F) · 16.0%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $34,894
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 29.5%
Where Lamar sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lamar'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 - Lamar highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Lamar, MO (this city): home $114,800, crime 3,709/100k
Adamsville, AL : home $144,700, crime 3,722/100k
Dawson, GA : home $94,800, crime 1,498/100k
Sinking Spring, PA : home $266,100, crime 632/100k
Normandy, MO : home $91,400, crime 3,375/100k
Scott City, MO : home $134,900, crime 1,103/100k
Riverside, MO : home $314,600, crime 5,325/100k
Bowling Green, MO : home $116,400, crime 718/100k
How does Lamar compare to other US cities?
Here's how Lamar stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income4% higher than other cities
Home value15% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety9% 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: Lamar ranks #197 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 Lamar 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 Lamar near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lamar ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lamar only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#764 of 842
9th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#448 of 833
46th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#74 of 875
92nd percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#421 of 875
52nd 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
4th percentile nationally for median household income · 9th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lamar's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lamar'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 Lamar's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$114,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 85% 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
Lamar's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,078 of 15,516
More affordable than 48% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,616 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.3×, Lamar sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,078 of 15,516 and #6,616 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$34,894Lamar, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lamar, 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 Lamar, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)29.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,290
Median Income
$34,894
Median Home Value
$114,800
Median Age
39.6
Poverty Rate
29.5%
Labor force participation
47.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3708.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
92.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3616.1
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
55.9°F
Annual Precipitation
48.9"
Annual Snowfall
7.3"
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lamar's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,264 residents
2021
4,283 residents
2022
4,289 residents
2023
4,310 residents
2024
4,315 residents
2025
4,337 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
7
housing units authorized
Single-Family
7
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
3
3
0
$0.4M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
2
2
0
$0.2M
2023
6
4
2
$0.4M
2024
7
7
0
$1.0M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
91.1%
Carpool
3.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
3.1%
Based on 1,532 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 Lamar. 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 Lamar 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 Lamar sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lamar 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.