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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-VAN-BUREN-MO · Van Buren, MO 1,146 pop · income 1st pct · 2 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 Van Buren
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Van Buren on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chitina · lowest
20,417
Chitina · lowest
20,417 median HH income
17.1% of the leader · rank #1
Keysville · near
20,417
Keysville · near
20,417 median HH income
17.1% of the leader · rank #2
Villalba zona… · near
20,431
Villalba zona… · near
20,431 median HH income
17.1% of the leader · rank #3
Van Buren · this city
20,441
Van Buren · this city
20,441 median HH income
17.1% of the leader · rank #4
Galateo comun… · near
20,455
Galateo comun… · near
20,455 median HH income
17.1% of the leader · rank #5
Blue River · highest
119,375
Blue River · highest
119,375 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Van Buren 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: 1,146.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Van Buren - the verdict
Van Buren ranks in the 1st percentile for household income and the 84th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
1st
percentile, household income
3rd
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
84th
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: Van Buren, MO
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,146 residents in Van Buren, a small town within Missouri. Households in Van Buren report a median income of $20,441 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 28.4%. Van Buren's housing stock carries a median value of $77,400, and the median resident age is 41.8 years. About 11.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 38.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 4 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity). Van Buren reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 522.9 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).
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $972 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Missouri run around $219, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Van Buren'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 schools and households to population change to comparison shortlist to reported crime to within-city variation to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Van Buren, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Van Buren?
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. 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.
Is Van Buren growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +40 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 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 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Van Buren?
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 Blue Summit (1,145 residents, $57,016 income); Sturgeon (1,143 residents, $66,500 income); Edmundson (1,153 residents, $51,141 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Sand Point, AK (1,146 residents); Grant, MI (1,146 residents); Elm Creek, NE (1,146 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 Van Buren?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 522.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 77% lower 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
522.9
Violent rate
261.4
Property rate
261.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Van Buren?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.3%. 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. 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.
Drive alone
69.3%
Work from home
0.0%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 329 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Van Buren?
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 3.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 28.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.8×
Home value
$77,400
Household income
$20,441
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 28.4% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
F
City profile score · Van Buren, MO
26/100
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 F
261 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
28.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$20,441
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Van Buren profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Violent crime: 39/100 (F) · 261 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 9/100 (F) · 11.0%
Poverty rate: 2/100 (F) · 28.4%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $20,441
Where Van Buren sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Van Buren'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 - Van Buren highlighted among 23 peers.Read the chart values
Van Buren, MO (this city): home $77,400, crime 523/100k
Blue River, CO : home $1,171,900, crime 119/100k
Edmundson, MO : home $92,200, crime 13,023/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Van Buren compare to other US cities?
Van Buren measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income1% higher than other cities
Home value3% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety84% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Missouri, Van Buren ranks #22 of 234 Missouri cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Van Buren 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 Van Buren near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Van Buren ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Van Buren only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#838 of 842
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#665 of 833
20th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#83 of 875
91st 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
1st percentile nationally for median household income · 84th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Van Buren's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Van Buren'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 Van Buren's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$77,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% 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
Van Buren's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,011 of 15,516
More affordable than 35% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,918 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.8×, Van Buren sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,011 of 15,516 and #7,918 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
$20,441Van Buren, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Van Buren, 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 Van Buren, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)28.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)38.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,146
Median Income
$20,441
Median Home Value
$77,400
Median Age
41.8
Poverty Rate
28.4%
Labor force participation
38.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
522.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
261.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
261.4
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
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Van Buren's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
752 residents
2021
768 residents
2022
761 residents
2023
770 residents
2024
777 residents
2025
792 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.5
permits per 1,000 residents
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
2
2
0
$0.6M
2024
4
4
0
$1.3M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
69.3%
Carpool
23.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.3%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 329 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 Van Buren. 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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Van Buren 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.