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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-SCHELL-CITY-MO · Schell City, MO 164 pop · income 6th pct
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 Schell City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Schell City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Howardville · lowest
13,889
Howardville · lowest
13,889 median HH income
10.0% of the leader · rank #1
Mayland · near
37,734
Mayland · near
37,734 median HH income
27.2% of the leader · rank #2
Schell City · this city
37,750
Schell City · this city
37,750 median HH income
27.2% of the leader · rank #3
Garberville · near
37,760
Garberville · near
37,760 median HH income
27.2% of the leader · rank #4
Colquitt · near
37,763
Colquitt · near
37,763 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #5
Wilmerding · near
37,764
Wilmerding · near
37,764 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #6
Shawneetown · highest
138,571
Shawneetown · highest
138,571 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Schell City on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 164.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Schell City lands in the 6th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
6th
percentile, household income
0th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Schell City, MO
Missouri's Schell City is a small town, with 164 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Schell City report a median income of $37,750 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 8.5%. Typical homes in Schell City are valued around $47,000, and the median resident age is 50.8 years. Educational attainment runs 11.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 39.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
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. 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 Schell City'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 population change to housing and income 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 Schell City, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Schell City?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Eugene (163 residents, $59,083 income); Oakwood (163 residents, $136,250 income); Shawneetown (165 residents, $138,571 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Eunola, AL (164 residents); O'Kean, AR (164 residents); Lazear, CO (164 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.
Is Schell City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.9% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Schell City?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.5%, 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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
What does the education layer cover for Schell City?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 11.0% 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 matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Schell City?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 67.3%. 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
26.5%
Drive alone
67.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 49 workers age 16+.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 8.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
F
City profile score · Schell City, MO
35/100
4 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.
Poverty rate D
8.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$37,750
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Schell City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Poverty rate: 46/100 (D) · 8.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 9/100 (F) · 11.0%
Household income: 4/100 (F) · $37,750
How does Schell City compare to other US cities?
Here's how Schell City stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income6% higher than other cities
Home value0% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Schell City 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 Schell City near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Schell City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Schell City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#720 of 842
14th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#807 of 833
3rd percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#502 of 875
42nd percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#602 of 875
31st 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
6th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Schell City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$47,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 100% 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
Schell City's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#132 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#130 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.2×, Schell City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #132 of 15,516 and #130 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
$37,750Schell City, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Schell City, 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 Schell City, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)39.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
164
Median Income
$37,750
Median Home Value
$47,000
Median Age
50.8
Poverty Rate
8.5%
Labor force participation
39.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.0%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Schell City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
228 residents
2021
227 residents
2022
227 residents
2023
229 residents
2024
229 residents
2025
230 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
67.3%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.0%
Work from Home
26.5%
Other
4.2%
Based on 49 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 Schell City. 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 Schell City 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 Schell City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Schell City 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, NCES CCD, 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.