City · Mississippi County, Missouri

East Prairie, Missouri

East Prairie is a city in Mississippi County, Missouri, part of the Sikeston, MO metro area. It has 2,902 residents. East Prairie, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,183 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #366 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), pharmacies (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on adult smoking (high), physical inactivity (high) and primary care shortage (high).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,183 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #366 of 375 in MO
Population: 2,902 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,321.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2921052

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety5#14,841/15,637
Economy14#13,449/15,631
Housing96#635/14,977
Health1#15,480/15,609
Healthcare2#15,379/15,650
Environment2#15,074/15,453
Education24#11,914/15,649
Infrastructure34#10,277/15,650
Community33#10,500/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,866/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where East Prairie, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mississippi 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

Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
92/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
90/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMississippi County value
Public libraries · high1.7 /10k
88/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMississippi County value
Students per teacher · low11.9×
84/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMississippi County value
Rent-burdened households · low42.5%
81/100Missouri 45.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Effective property tax rate · low0.58%
81/100Missouri 0.89%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high28.4%
1/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · high43.0%
1/100Missouri 31.3%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMississippi County value
Adult obesity · high48.1%
1/100Missouri 38.9%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.6%
2/100Missouri 19.8%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Firearm deaths · high30.4 /100k
2/100Missouri 20.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataMississippi County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.3 /1k (2021) → 2.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+628%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.3% (2015-2019) → 92.5% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
41.1% (2015-2019) → 19.9% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.5% (2015-2019) → 42.5% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
63.9% (2015-2019) → 75.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
35.2% (2015-2019) → 25.7% (2020-2024)
−9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, East Prairie, Missouri improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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

Broadband+29 points63.3% → 92.5%
Child poverty−21 points41.1% → 19.9%
Bachelor's++9.2 points4.3% → 13.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of East Prairie, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.5 min2015-2019	20.6 min2020-2024	+3.1 min	Within the margin of error	19%
Bachelor's degree or higher	4.3%2015-2019	13.6%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Improved	88%
Broadband subscriptions	63.3%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+29 points	Improved	98%
Child poverty rate	41.1%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	−21 points	Improved	94%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.58%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	63.9%2015-2019	75.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−0.8×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.4112020-2024	−0.009	Within the margin of error	59%
Median household income	$25,0002015-2019	$34,6372020-2024	+39%	Within the margin of error	72%
Poverty rate	27.9%2015-2019	21.2%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	35.2%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	−9.5 points	Within the margin of error	93%
Rent-burdened households	58.5%2015-2019	42.5%2020-2024	−16 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.9%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%

“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 East Prairie, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of East Prairie, 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, East Prairie, Missouri itself moved +22.6 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

2,902 residents (±17)

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

1,298 households (±106)

East Prairie, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k32%†419
$25k–50k30%†390
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,298 households (±106)

East Prairie, Missouri
Missouri share

Own48%617
Rent52%681

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,127 workers (±191)

East Prairie, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone83%930
Carpool11%†121
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Sikeston, MO

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 Mississippi County, the county holding most of East Prairie's residents.

Mississippi County has 214 employer establishments, 181 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.74× Missouri's), with 1,966 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,287. The Census Bureau also counts 653 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 214; 653 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 181; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 1,966
Average annual pay: $47,287; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	21	17.7	0.97×About typical	277	$17,047	5
Truck transportation	16	13.5	2.67×More than typical	191	$48,016	38
Ambulatory health care services	12	10.1	0.49×Fewer than typical	86	$66,605	13
Religious organizations	10	8.4	1.52×More than typical	27	$15,185	—
Full-service restaurants	9	7.6	0.99×Too few to compare	85	$14,741	—
Gasoline stations	8	6.8	2.08×Too few to compare	150	$40,087	—
Limited-service restaurants	8	6.8	0.84×Too few to compare	150	$17,973	—
Banks and credit unions	7	5.9	1.83×Too few to compare	76	$56,066	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	7	5.9	1.35×Too few to compare	24	$38,625	15
General merchandise stores	6	5.1	2.87×Too few to compare	56	$19,429	4
Individual and family services	6	5.1	1.81×Too few to compare	68	$26,206	3
Specialty trade contractors	6	5.1	0.33×Too few to compare	12	$50,000	48

Rank places for an industry Open Mississippi County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,842 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Mississippi 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.

East Prairie, 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.

Mississippi County11100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sikeston, MO18

Other cities and towns in Mississippi 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/2921052

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends