City · St. Francois County, Missouri

Leadwood, Missouri

Leadwood is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, part of the Farmington, MO metro area. It has 1,354 residents. Leadwood, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 21 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,355 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #332 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), pharmacies (high) and hospital quality rating (high). It ranks worst on poverty rate (high), rent as share of income (high) and adult smoking (high).

21Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,355 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #332 of 375 in MO
Population: 1,354 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,170.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2941078

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.

Safety19#12,637/15,637
Economy13#13,565/15,631
Housing56#6,631/14,977
Health3#15,165/15,609
Healthcare28#11,210/15,650
Environment59#6,390/15,453
Education58#6,506/15,649
Infrastructure24#11,940/15,650
Community51#7,685/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,316/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Leadwood, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Francois 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 · low1.4×
99/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
94/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Francois County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Missouri 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Francois County value
High school diploma or higher · high80.9%
78/100Missouri 91.8%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Missouri 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Francois County value
Unemployment rate · low2.7%
74/100Missouri 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Poverty rate · high36.0%
1/100Missouri 12.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Missouri 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Adult smoking · high23.4%
4/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Average weekly wage · low$886
4/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Francois County value
Frequent mental distress · high21.9%
6/100Missouri 19.8%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Francois County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,443 (2015-2019) → 1,354 (2020-2024)
−6.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
12.2% (2015-2019) → 46.5% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.1% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
47.7% (2015-2019) → 69.2% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
18.9% (2015-2019) → 36.0% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
23.6% (2015-2019) → 12.6% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Leadwood, Missouri improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved1

Uninsured−11 points23.6% → 12.6%

Declined2

Poverty+17 points18.9% → 36.0%
Rent / income+22 points29.1% → 51.0%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Leadwood, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.0 min2015-2019	33.0 min2020-2024	+6.0 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Broadband subscriptions	82.1%2015-2019	87.7%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	1.24%2015-2019	0.87%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
High school diploma or higher	82.3%2015-2019	80.9%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3852015-2019	0.4412020-2024	+0.056	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$37,2412015-2019	$44,7832020-2024	+20%	Within the margin of error	33%
Poverty rate	18.9%2015-2019	36.0%2020-2024	+17 points	Declined	1%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.1%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+22 points	Declined	2%
Rent-burdened households	47.7%2015-2019	69.2%2020-2024	+21 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.6%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	97%

“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 Leadwood, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Leadwood, 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, Leadwood, Missouri itself moved −18.7 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,354 residents (±498)

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: Under 10 women (+10.3 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

1,354 residents (±498)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

White97%†1,312
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.0%0

Education

806 residents (±249)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

No high school diploma19%†154
High school or GED38%†308
Some college24%†

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

512 households (±147)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k33%†170
$25k–50k21%†110
$50k–75k18%†94
$75k–100k8.0%†41
$100k–150k19%†97
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+15.8 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 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

512 households (±147)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Own76%†388
Rent24%†124

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Rent (−12.2 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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

107 households (±49)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $75034%†36
$750–1,00062%†66
$1,000–1,5000.0%0

Home values

388 homes (±129)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $150k96%†373
$150k–250k1.5%†6
$250k–400k2.3%†9

Age of homes

643 homes (±144)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20092.8%†18
1980–19993.3%†21

Size of homes

643 homes (±144)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom7.0%†45
2 bedrooms49%†314

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

457 workers (±146)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone89%†407
Carpool9.8%†45
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home0.7%†3
Other0.4%†2

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

454 workers (±146)

Leadwood, Missouri
Missouri share

Under 15 min20%†93
15–29 min42%†192
30–44 min8.6%†39

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

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 Farmington, 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 St. Francois County, the county holding most of Leadwood's residents.

St. Francois County has 1,438 employer establishments, 215 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Missouri's), with 17,990 paid employees at an average annual pay of $39,714. The Census Bureau also counts 4,007 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,438; 4,007 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 215; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 17,990
Average annual pay: $39,714; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	143	21.3	1.02×About typical	1,245	$59,018	149
Restaurants and other eating places	107	16	0.87×About typical	2,169	$17,835	13
Specialty trade contractors	99	14.8	0.95×About typical	823	$62,262	357
Religious organizations	60	9	1.61×More than typical	317	$19,041	—
Limited-service restaurants	53	7.9	0.99×About typical	1,069	$18,949	6
Truck transportation	49	7.3	1.45×More than typical	271	$48,373	96
Lessors of real estate	45	6.7	0.55×Fewer than typical	88	$36,477	387
Full-service restaurants	43	6.4	0.84×About typical	929	$17,638	3
Individual and family services	42	6.3	2.24×More than typical	528	$24,661	39
Offices of physicians	41	6.1	0.94×About typical	404	$85,067	40
Building equipment contractors	40	6	0.99×About typical	470	$62,221	54
Construction of buildings	38	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	150	$63,740	189

Rank places for an industry Open St. Francois County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 67,027 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: Leadwood is mostly in St. Francois County.

See federal money in St. Francois 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.

Leadwood, 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.

St. Francois County33100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Farmington, MO25

Other cities and towns in St. Francois 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

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