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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-SMITHTON-MO · Smithton, MO 509 pop · income 22nd 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 Smithton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Smithton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Niangua · lowest
36,667
Niangua · lowest
36,667 median HH income
28.5% of the leader · rank #1
Smithton · this city
51,875
Smithton · this city
51,875 median HH income
40.4% of the leader · rank #2
Savoonga · near
51,875
Savoonga · near
51,875 median HH income
40.4% of the leader · rank #3
Hector · near
51,875
Hector · near
51,875 median HH income
40.4% of the leader · rank #4
Fleming · near
51,875
Fleming · near
51,875 median HH income
40.4% of the leader · rank #5
Chestnut · near
51,875
Chestnut · near
51,875 median HH income
40.4% of the leader · rank #6
West Alton · highest
128,438
West Alton · highest
128,438 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 Smithton 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: 509.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Smithton lands in the 22nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
22nd
percentile, household income
6th
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: Smithton, MO
509 people live in Smithton, Missouri - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Smithton report a median income of $51,875 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 1.4%. Home values in Smithton run a median of $87,500, and the median resident age is 36.7 years. 13.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 63.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Smithton (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: the state registers 90.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. 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 Smithton'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 population change to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Smithton, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Smithton?
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.
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are New Melle (510 residents, $103,750 income); Union Star (510 residents, $57,907 income); West Alton (511 residents, $128,438 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cactus Forest, AZ (509 residents); Craigmont, ID (509 residents); Greens Fork, IN (509 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.
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.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 13.3% 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.
Is Smithton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +3 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
How far does income reach against housing in Smithton?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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 Smithton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 93.0%. 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
93.0%
Work from home
2.9%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 243 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.
Poverty rate A+
1.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Household income F
$51,875
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Smithton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 90/100 (A+) · 1.4%
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Household income: 23/100 (F) · $51,875
Bachelor's+ share: 15/100 (F) · 13.3%
How does Smithton compare to other US cities?
Smithton measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income22% higher than other cities
Home value6% 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 Smithton 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 Smithton near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Smithton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Smithton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#446 of 842
47th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#589 of 833
29th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#766 of 875
12th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#518 of 875
40th 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
22nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Smithton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$87,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 94% 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
Smithton's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#725 of 15,516
More affordable than 95% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#708 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Smithton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #725 of 15,516 and #708 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
$51,875Smithton, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Smithton, 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 Smithton, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
509
Median Income
$51,875
Median Home Value
$87,500
Median Age
36.7
Poverty Rate
1.4%
Labor force participation
63.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.3%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Smithton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
505 residents
2021
508 residents
2022
506 residents
2023
505 residents
2024
506 residents
2025
508 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
93.0%
Carpool
2.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.6%
Work from Home
2.9%
Based on 243 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 Smithton. 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 Smithton 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 Smithton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Smithton 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 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.