Scores by category

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

Safety39#9,580/15,637
Economy35#10,139/15,631
Housing87#1,912/14,977
Health20#12,523/15,609
Healthcare15#13,225/15,650
Environment61#6,030/15,453
Education80#3,063/15,649
Infrastructure35#10,167/15,650
Community50#7,770/15,651
Leisure & amenities83#2,664/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lake Ozark, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Miller 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

New homes permitted · high46.3 /1k
99/100Missouri 3.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Pharmacies · high3.1 /10k
97/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMiller County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.8 /10k
92/100Missouri 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMiller County value
Property crime rate · low507 /100k
89/100Missouri 1,644 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMiller County value
Restaurants and bars · high12.0 /10k
87/100Missouri 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMiller County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.52%
86/100Missouri 0.89%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Missouri 5.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMiller County value
Average weekly wage · low$896
5/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMiller County value
Mental health providers · low58 /100k
7/100Missouri 278 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMiller County value
Distance to an emergency room · high14.0 mi
9/100Missouri 6.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMiller County value
Dentists · low27 /100k
9/100Missouri 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMiller County value
Primary care physicians · low32 /100k
13/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMiller County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,858 (2015-2019) → 2,335 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
9.3 /1k (2021) → 46.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+395%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.4% (2015-2019) → 46.8% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
12.5% (2015-2019) → 18.6% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.0% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioImproving
4.6× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
−18%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Lake Ozark, Missouri improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Lake Ozark, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	21.5 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.2%2015-2019	39.3%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	94.9%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Child poverty rate	27.1%2015-2019	24.6%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Effective property tax rate	0.67%2015-2019	0.52%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	93.4%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	4.6×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	−0.8×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.4842020-2024	+0.061	Within the margin of error	12%
Median household income	$64,8812015-2019	$74,1762020-2024	+14%	Within the margin of error	23%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.6%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	37.4%2015-2019	46.8%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.0%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	81%

“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 Lake Ozark, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lake Ozark, 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, Lake Ozark, Missouri itself moved −9.4 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

2,335 residents (±472)

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: 10–19 men (+6.5 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

2,335 residents (±472)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

White92%2,143
Black3.9%†90
Hispanic or Latino1.9%†45

Education

1,752 residents (±328)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

No high school diploma8.2%†143
High school or GED27%467
Some college21%†362

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

925 households (±160)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k15%†136
$25k–50k18%†164
$50k–75k19%†178
$75k–100k11%†102
$100k–150k23%†211
$150k–200k5.0%†46
$200k or more9.5%†88

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

925 households (±160)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Own69%635
Rent31%†290

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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

263 households (±120)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $75036%†95
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50049%†130

Home values

635 homes (±114)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $150k20%†125
$150k–250k28%†179
$250k–400k12%†76

Age of homes

1,864 homes (±214)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

2010 or later12%†224
2000–200922%†414
1980–199947%882

Size of homes

1,864 homes (±214)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom1.2%†22
2 bedrooms24%448

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

1,172 workers (±282)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone75%†879
Carpool12%†139
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.8%†9
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.0%†82
Other5.4%†63

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

1,090 workers (±277)

Lake Ozark, Missouri
Missouri share

Under 15 min50%†543
15–29 min29%†318
30–44 min11%†120

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 Miller County, the county holding most of Lake Ozark's residents.

Miller County has 714 employer establishments, 279 for every 10,000 residents (1.13× the US rate of 248; 1.14× Missouri's), with 6,325 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,262. The Census Bureau also counts 2,084 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 714; 2,084 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 279; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 6,325
Average annual pay: $41,262; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	94	36.8	2.38×More than typical	526	$48,800	282
Restaurants and other eating places	53	20.7	1.13×About typical	880	$23,747	9
Lessors of real estate	49	19.2	1.56×More than typical	170	$42,806	227
Construction of buildings	38	14.9	1.97×More than typical	206	$48,718	152
Full-service restaurants	32	12.5	1.63×More than typical	566	$25,449	—
Real estate agents and brokers	32	12.5	2.57×More than typical	78	$45,474	70
Building equipment contractors	29	11.3	1.89×More than typical	164	$51,823	47
Other specialty trade contractors	27	10.6	4.21×More than typical	123	$51,520	97
Services to buildings and dwellings	27	10.6	1.57×More than typical	149	$37,282	215
Ambulatory health care services	24	9.4	0.45×Fewer than typical	227	$63,771	45
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	22	8.6	2.73×More than typical	144	$46,368	46
Insurance agencies and brokerages	20	7.8	1.78×More than typical	77	$46,649	24

Rank places for an industry Open Miller County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 25,560 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 Lake Ozark, Missouri: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

65FY2017
5.5KFY2018
340FY2019
-66.1FY2020
1.5KFY2022

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Lake Ozark, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Miller 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.

Lake Ozark, Missouri is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).