The 10 Worst Small Towns In Missouri For 2025

Most Americans have never been to small town Missouri. However, as the Missourian who live there know, small town Missouri is an awesome place to call home.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Missouri has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Show Me State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.

After analyzing more than 224 of Missouri’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Missouri where you’d never want to live:

---

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

---

These are the worst small towns in Missouri for 2025:

1. Ellington
2. Steelville
3. Malden
4. Houston
5. Granby
6. Van Buren
7. Rich Hill
8. Leadwood
9. Marble Hill
10. Greenfield

So what is the worst small town to call home in Missouri for 2025? According to the most recent census data, Ellington is the worst small town to live in Missouri.

While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Ellington home. Everyone

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Missouri or the worst places to live in Missouri.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Missouri For 2025

1. Ellington

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,104
Median Home Value: $70,000
Median Income: $33,953
Unemployment Rate: 33.5%

2. Steelville

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 1,410
Median Home Value: $82,500
Median Income: $32,404
Unemployment Rate: 9.7%

3. Malden

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,818
Median Home Value: $88,900
Median Income: $38,786
Unemployment Rate: 10.1%

4. Houston

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,407
Median Home Value: $115,200
Median Income: $41,250
Unemployment Rate: 10.9%

5. Granby

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,345
Median Home Value: $99,200
Median Income: $45,655
Unemployment Rate: 14.0%

6. Van Buren

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,146
Median Home Value: $77,400
Median Income: $20,441
Unemployment Rate: 10.8%

7. Rich Hill

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,412
Median Home Value: $58,100
Median Income: $45,203
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%

8. Leadwood

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,524
Median Home Value: $64,000
Median Income: $44,167
Unemployment Rate: 10.1%

9. Marble Hill

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,781
Median Home Value: $94,000
Median Income: $30,486
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%

10. Greenfield

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,276
Median Home Value: $82,500
Median Income: $32,930
Unemployment Rate: 10.3%

Next 10 Towns

Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Missouri is lousy or not?

To rank the worst small towns to live in Missouri, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.

We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.

Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

• Population Density (The lower, the worse)
• Highest Unemployment Rates
• Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
• Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
• Education (Number of high school dropouts)
• High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 224 to be exact.

We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Missouri.

There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Missouri

If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Show Me State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

The worst small towns in Missouri are Ellington, Steelville, Malden, Houston, Granby, Van Buren, Rich Hill, Leadwood, Marble Hill, and Greenfield.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Missouri, according to science:

1. Rock Hill (Pop. 4,708)
2. Weatherby Lake (Pop. 2,465)
3. Warson Woods (Pop. 2,312)

For more Missouri reading, check out:

Worst Small Towns In Missouri

Rank	Town	Population	Unemployment Rate	Home Value	Median Income
1	Ellington	1,104	33.5%	$70,000	$33,953
2	Steelville	1,410	9.7%	$82,500	$32,404
3	Malden	3,818	10.1%	$88,900	$38,786
4	Houston	2,407	10.9%	$115,200	$41,250
5	Granby	2,345	14.0%	$99,200	$45,655
6	Van Buren	1,146	10.8%	$77,400	$20,441
7	Rich Hill	1,412	5.9%	$58,100	$45,203
8	Leadwood	1,524	10.1%	$64,000	$44,167
9	Marble Hill	1,781	6.6%	$94,000	$30,486
10	Greenfield	1,276	10.3%	$82,500	$32,930
11	Pine Lawn	2,738	12.7%	$51,700	$19,924
12	Noel	1,679	6.9%	$117,000	$39,196
13	Humansville	1,190	10.0%	$61,400	$34,904
14	Mansfield	1,375	9.9%	$92,000	$30,587
15	Licking	2,816	11.2%	$109,000	$32,813
16	Piedmont	2,857	6.8%	$102,400	$37,868
17	Edina	1,420	8.8%	$79,900	$42,125
18	Campbell	1,719	10.0%	$65,000	$45,208
19	Thayer	2,288	2.9%	$69,300	$36,477
20	Hayti	2,145	10.0%	$73,500	$25,486
21	Senath	1,578	4.1%	$92,700	$38,304
22	East Prairie	2,930	4.4%	$58,000	$31,159
23	Richland	2,256	6.2%	$89,000	$41,750
24	Cabool	2,460	2.3%	$100,400	$30,781
25	Pierce City	1,472	5.8%	$112,000	$45,000
26	Mountain View	2,648	4.1%	$114,900	$51,005
27	Bloomfield	2,011	4.5%	$69,400	$43,182
28	Steele	1,449	22.6%	$115,900	$33,750
29	Willow Springs	2,015	4.5%	$108,300	$43,125
30	Lilbourn	1,021	2.7%	$65,600	$41,250
31	Sarcoxie	1,344	5.4%	$79,500	$37,868
32	Purdy	1,308	14.8%	$84,200	$43,438
33	Flordell Hills	1,300	37.4%	$53,200	$31,786
34	Butler	4,594	13.4%	$124,100	$36,276
35	Pagedale	2,547	8.4%	$77,500	$30,908
36	Louisiana	3,231	7.7%	$81,100	$46,006
37	Anderson	2,415	5.0%	$97,900	$51,875
38	Breckenridge Hills	4,413	7.5%	$92,700	$44,800
39	Charleston	4,565	5.3%	$107,700	$35,139
40	Canton	2,741	11.1%	$115,100	$46,941
41	Sweet Springs	1,299	6.4%	$92,000	$46,111
42	Doniphan	2,220	6.4%	$113,600	$43,309
43	Sugar Creek	3,261	6.2%	$104,800	$57,467
44	Potosi	2,542	4.1%	$101,100	$37,055
45	Ava	2,978	6.7%	$134,800	$44,722
46	El Dorado Springs	3,545	3.0%	$83,700	$31,982
47	Carterville	1,978	4.6%	$95,400	$55,099
48	Bel-Ridge	2,714	14.7%	$88,900	$39,878
49	Portageville	2,869	5.9%	$150,000	$36,924
50	Lamar	4,290	2.8%	$114,800	$34,894
51	Castle Point	2,792	11.2%	$57,300	$34,679
52	Salem	4,673	4.8%	$97,200	$39,200
53	Bismarck	1,560	5.2%	$108,000	$41,550
54	New Franklin	1,015	4.5%	$117,700	$53,056
55	Wellsville	1,197	4.2%	$74,100	$61,635
56	Adrian	2,006	11.0%	$139,600	$48,233
57	Crane	1,545	6.0%	$108,300	$47,892
58	Normandy	4,263	13.6%	$91,400	$33,421
59	Versailles	2,580	4.4%	$113,000	$34,970
60	Country Club Hills	1,017	8.5%	$49,400	$48,132
61	Bernie	1,772	2.5%	$90,800	$45,223
62	Marionville	2,701	10.7%	$125,700	$50,250
63	Ironton	1,755	5.3%	$109,900	$42,415
64	Buffalo	3,358	4.3%	$131,300	$32,630
65	Claycomo	1,994	6.7%	$151,300	$49,649
66	Riverview	2,688	7.2%	$74,000	$53,506
67	Duenweg	1,707	1.8%	$116,600	$53,839
68	Camdenton	4,017	1.3%	$171,600	$44,800
69	Vinita Park	1,978	6.9%	$99,000	$53,355
70	St. James	3,922	9.1%	$117,200	$50,644
71	Stockton	2,018	7.6%	$135,800	$41,053
72	Osage Beach	4,715	8.0%	$286,800	$52,067
73	Slater	2,144	2.2%	$82,500	$40,313
74	Gerald	1,264	6.2%	$141,400	$56,250
75	Gallatin	1,722	4.3%	$126,400	$43,322
76	Seymour	2,081	4.6%	$120,400	$51,497
77	Wellston	1,690	4.9%	$1,000	$39,474
78	Windsor	3,038	1.7%	$96,400	$42,004
79	Stanberry	1,190	4.7%	$99,600	$63,958
80	Mountain Grove	4,494	1.4%	$89,300	$41,875
81	Kahoka	2,083	8.9%	$94,800	$35,993
82	Bowling Green	4,130	7.7%	$116,400	$51,675
83	St. Clair	4,767	7.7%	$134,100	$40,933
84	Cassville	3,208	3.8%	$152,600	$52,102
85	Carrollton	3,335	5.6%	$101,800	$53,160
86	Edmundson	1,153	2.2%	$92,200	$51,141
87	Milan	1,883	5.6%	$89,700	$52,647
88	Cool Valley	1,319	5.1%	$94,700	$50,417
89	Chaffee	3,039	5.7%	$120,900	$41,024
90	Riverside	4,153	6.2%	$314,600	$50,882
91	La Plata	1,401	8.1%	$96,300	$49,107
92	Albany	1,855	2.9%	$96,700	$46,905
93	Oran	1,137	7.1%	$130,200	$57,404
94	Northwoods	3,654	6.0%	$72,300	$40,787
95	Woodson Terrace	3,935	3.7%	$100,600	$49,650
96	Drexel	1,039	3.2%	$128,600	$51,910
97	Bourbon	1,694	4.0%	$116,000	$63,125
98	Strafford	2,609	5.2%	$148,100	$60,670
99	Fredericktown	4,464	12.3%	$120,200	$53,681
100	Appleton City	1,187	3.0%	$86,500	$44,615