City · Stoddard County, Missouri

Advance, Missouri

Advance is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri. It has 1,450 residents. Advance, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 27 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,399 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #293 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), homicide rate (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on primary care shortage (high), distance to an airport (high) and adult smoking (high).

27Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,399 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #293 of 375 in MO
Population: 1,450 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,297.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2900262

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety49#7,949/15,637
Economy39#9,466/15,631
Housing95#781/14,977
Health13#13,579/15,609
Healthcare10#14,027/15,650
Environment11#13,824/15,453
Education62#5,948/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,452/15,650
Community50#7,858/15,651
Leisure & amenities33#10,506/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Advance, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Stoddard County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.7%
94/100Missouri 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Missouri 7.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataStoddard County value
Social associations · high15.5 /10k
92/100Missouri 11.5 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStoddard County value
Public libraries · high1.8 /10k
89/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesStoddard County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
89/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
87/100Missouri 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStoddard County value

Weaknesses

Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationStoddard County value
Distance to an airport · high122 mi
5/100Missouri 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauStoddard County value
Adult smoking · high22.2%
6/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationStoddard County value
Dentists · low25 /100k
7/100Missouri 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStoddard County value
Average weekly wage · low$919
7/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStoddard County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,363 (2015-2019) → 1,450 (2020-2024)
+6.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.1% (2015-2019) → 85.6% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$29,353 (2015-2019) → $59,688 (2020-2024)
+103%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 1.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+101%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
20.8% (2015-2019) → 3.8% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateWorsening
8.8% (2015-2019) → 21.5% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Advance, Missouri improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+103%$29,353 → $59,688
Price / income−1.0×3.1× → 2.1×
Broadband+22 points64.1% → 85.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Advance, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.0 min2015-2019	33.3 min2020-2024	+3.3 min	Within the margin of error	17%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.5%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Broadband subscriptions	64.1%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	92%
Effective property tax rate	0.57%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
High school diploma or higher	84.0%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−1.0×	Improved	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4262015-2019	0.3922020-2024	−0.034	Within the margin of error	76%
Median household income	$29,3532015-2019	$59,6882020-2024	+103%	Improved	99%
Poverty rate	19.1%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−5.1 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.8%2015-2019	27.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	35.6%2015-2019	34.8%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	59%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Advance, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Advance, Missouri in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Advance, Missouri itself moved +9.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,450 residents (±216)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

710 households (±98)

Advance, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k19%†132
$25k–50k23%†161
$50k–75k21%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

710 households (±98)

Advance, Missouri
Missouri share

Own80%566
Rent20%†144

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+16.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

728 workers (±145)

Advance, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone87%631
Carpool8.9%†65
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Stoddard County, the county holding most of Advance's residents.

Stoddard County has 644 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Missouri's), with 8,455 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,044. The Census Bureau also counts 2,335 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 644; 2,335 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 8,455
Average annual pay: $46,044; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Stoddard County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	46	16.2	1.05×About typical	289	$57,291	193
Restaurants and other eating places	44	15.5	0.85×About typical	689	$18,425	4
Ambulatory health care services	43	15.2	0.73×Fewer than typical	480	$46,077	45
Religious organizations	40	14.1	2.54×More than typical	156	$19,372	—
Truck transportation	25	8.8	1.74×More than typical	154	$53,870	103
Full-service restaurants	23	8.1	1.06×About typical	282	$24,018	—
Banks and credit unions	20	7.1	2.18×More than typical	224	$56,929	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	20	7.1	1.61×More than typical	36	$44,222	34
Other specialty trade contractors	18	6.4	2.53×More than typical	120	$61,600	64
Services to buildings and dwellings	17	6	0.89×About typical	76	$31,842	183
Lessors of real estate	16	5.6	0.46×Fewer than typical	149	$84,933	380
Limited-service restaurants	15	5.3	0.66×Fewer than typical	384	$14,492	—

Rank places for an industry Open Stoddard County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,344 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Advance, Missouri: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

253FY2017
265.7FY2019
1.3KFY2020
-214.3FY2021

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Advance, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Advance, Missouri's figures are part of those of Stoddard County, MO ($7.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Advance is mostly in Stoddard County.

See federal money in Stoddard County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Advance, Missouri is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jason SmithR-MO-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Stoddard County27100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Stoddard County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2900262

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends