Scores by category

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

Safety26#11,638/15,637
Economy20#12,504/15,631
Housing65#5,269/14,977
Health10#14,116/15,609
Healthcare11#13,924/15,650
Environment71#4,494/15,453
Education34#10,267/15,649
Infrastructure30#11,022/15,650
Community46#8,467/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,500/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where El Dorado Springs, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cedar 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

Job growth · high4.4%
97/100Missouri 0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataCedar County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low106 min
94/100Missouri 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCedar County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,697 /100k
93/100Missouri 3,034 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCedar County value
Students per teacher · low11.8×
87/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCedar County value
Average commute time · low17.7 min
86/100Missouri 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public libraries · high1.3 /10k
83/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCedar County value

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$796
1/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCedar County value
Median household income · low$32,128
2/100Missouri $71,583United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Flu vaccinations · low25.0%
3/100Missouri 44.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCedar County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Missouri 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCedar County value
Adult smoking · high22.4%
5/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.7%
7/100Missouri 19.8%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.3 /1k (2021) → 1.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+383%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
17.7% (2015-2019) → 39.1% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 89.1% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
18.0% (2015-2019) → 28.4% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.0% (2015-2019) → 59.3% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, El Dorado Springs, Missouri improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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.

Improved1

Broadband+14 points75.4% → 89.1%

Declined2

Child poverty+21 points17.7% → 39.1%
Price / income+1.0×2.2× → 3.2×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of El Dorado Springs, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.7 min2015-2019	17.7 min2020-2024	−1.9 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.3%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	17.7%2015-2019	39.1%2020-2024	+21 points	Declined	4%
Effective property tax rate	0.78%2015-2019	1.00%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	90.2%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	21%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3622015-2019	0.4062020-2024	+0.045	Within the margin of error	19%
Median household income	$30,9232015-2019	$32,1282020-2024	+3.9%	Within the margin of error	10%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Rent as share of income	30.0%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Rent-burdened households	50.0%2015-2019	59.3%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.3%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−8.2 points	Within the margin of error	94%

“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 El Dorado Springs, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of El Dorado Springs, 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, El Dorado Springs, Missouri itself moved −10.8 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

3,586 residents (±16)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 60–69 men (+5.9 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,586 residents (±16)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

White92%3,298
Black0.9%†33
Hispanic or Latino2.8%†102

Education

2,568 residents (±199)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

No high school diploma8.2%†211
High school or GED45%1,148
Some college26%672

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,689 households (±174)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k26%†440
$25k–50k41%†686
$50k–75k18%†308
$75k–100k10%†175
$100k–150k1.7%†29
$150k–200k3.0%†51
$200k or more0.0%0

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

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,689 households (±174)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Own47%792
Rent53%897

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

809 households (±170)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $75045%†366
$750–1,00028%†225
$1,000–1,50022%†181

Home values

792 homes (±188)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $150k66%†526
$150k–250k27%†215
$250k–400k6.4%†51

Age of homes

1,954 homes (±187)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

2010 or later5.6%†109
2000–20092.4%†47
1980–199914%†268

Size of homes

1,954 homes (±187)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom9.2%†179
2 bedrooms43%839

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,453 workers (±252)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone90%1,310
Carpool3.1%†45
Public transit0.0%0
Walk3.7%†54
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.0%†44
Other0.0%0

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

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,409 workers (±265)

El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Under 15 min57%804
15–29 min21%†293
30–44 min4.2%†59

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Cedar County, the county holding most of El Dorado Springs's residents.

Cedar County has 305 employer establishments, 208 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Missouri's), with 2,576 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,577. The Census Bureau also counts 1,280 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 305; 1,280 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 208; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 2,576
Average annual pay: $37,577; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	28	19.1	1.23×About typical	94	$40,532	193
Restaurants and other eating places	21	14.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	229	$17,319	—
Religious organizations	17	11.6	2.09×More than typical	58	$21,241	—
Ambulatory health care services	13	8.9	0.43×Fewer than typical	154	$59,545	27
Building equipment contractors	11	7.5	1.25×About typical	26	$27,769	40
Construction of buildings	11	7.5	0.99×About typical	58	$42,259	131
Limited-service restaurants	11	7.5	0.93×About typical	173	$17,879	—
Truck transportation	11	7.5	1.48×More than typical	16	$34,813	66
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	6.8	1.35×More than typical	30	$23,867	32
Lessors of real estate	9	6.1	0.50×Too few to compare	58	$21,517	128
Child day care services	8	5.5	2.23×Too few to compare	22	$24,000	21
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	8	5.5	1.65×Too few to compare	15	$26,133	23

Rank places for an industry Open Cedar County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,674 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 $11.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in El Dorado Springs, Missouri: $3.11 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $11.2K; +254% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.11; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

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

Top buying agencies

Bureau of Land Management$11.2K100%

Top recipients

THORESON RANCH INC$11.2K100%

Spending by fiscal year

10.8KFY2017
11.1KFY2018
8.7KFY2019
8.3KFY2020
8.3KFY2021
10.1KFY2022
10.7KFY2023
11.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for animal production · 1152$11.2K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 El Dorado Springs, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

El Dorado Springs, Missouri's figures are part of those of Cedar County, MO ($1.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.9% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: El Dorado Springs is mostly in Cedar County.

See federal money in Cedar 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.

El Dorado Springs, Missouri is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mark AlfordR-MO-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

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.

Cedar County24100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Cedar 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/2921502

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends