City · Benton County, Missouri

Lincoln, Missouri

Lincoln is a city in Benton County, Missouri. It has 1,787 residents. Lincoln, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,833 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #226 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), effective property tax rate (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and dentists (low).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,833 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #226 of 375 in MO
Population: 1,787 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,882.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2942608

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.

Safety42#9,052/15,637
Economy46#8,377/15,631
Housing90#1,550/14,977
Health16#13,184/15,609
Healthcare4#15,084/15,650
Environment84#2,500/15,453
Education61#6,154/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,232/15,650
Community48#8,168/15,651
Leisure & amenities27#11,354/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lincoln, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Benton 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 · high2.9%
93/100Missouri 0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBenton County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.47%
90/100Missouri 0.89%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Social associations · high14.6 /10k
90/100Missouri 11.5 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Missouri 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.370
86/100Missouri 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Unemployment rate · low1.8%
85/100Missouri 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$770
0/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBenton County value
Distance to an emergency room · high21.6 mi
2/100Missouri 6.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBenton County value
Dentists · low15 /100k
2/100Missouri 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low32.4%
3/100Missouri 76.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
Injury deaths · high139 /100k
6/100Missouri 106 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBenton County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBenton County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
948 (2015-2019) → 1,787 (2020-2024)
+89%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$26,500 (2015-2019) → $63,200 (2020-2024)
+138%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
38.6% (2015-2019) → 15.3% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.8% (2015-2019) → 86.0% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 1.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+52%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
20.4% (2015-2019) → 12.8% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Lincoln, Missouri improved on 4 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved4

Child poverty−23 points38.6% → 15.3%
Inequality−0.0920.462 → 0.370
Broadband+20 points65.8% → 86.0%
Property tax−0.4 points0.89% → 0.47%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Lincoln, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.4 min2015-2019	34.2 min2020-2024	+5.8 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.2%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	65.8%2015-2019	86.0%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	38.6%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	−23 points	Improved	95%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.47%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	86.7%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4622015-2019	0.3702020-2024	−0.092	Improved	94%
Poverty rate	20.4%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Rent as share of income	34.7%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Rent-burdened households	56.8%2015-2019	52.8%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	69%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Lincoln, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lincoln, 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, Lincoln, Missouri itself moved +17.5 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,787 residents (±297)

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

520 households (±75)

Lincoln, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k20%†102
$25k–50k23%†121
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

520 households (±75)

Lincoln, Missouri
Missouri share

Own73%380
Rent27%†140

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

605 workers (±99)

Lincoln, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone80%481
Carpool17%†101
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 Benton County, the county holding most of Lincoln's residents.

Benton County has 383 employer establishments, 186 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Missouri's), with 2,399 paid employees at an average annual pay of $31,654. The Census Bureau also counts 1,696 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 383; 1,696 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 186; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 2,399
Average annual pay: $31,654; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	41	19.9	1.29×More than typical	158	$50,373	234
Restaurants and other eating places	30	14.6	0.79×Fewer than typical	339	$17,991	6
Religious organizations	27	13.1	2.37×More than typical	86	$14,279	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	9.7	1.93×More than typical	48	$35,167	41
Ambulatory health care services	18	8.8	0.42×Fewer than typical	97	$57,505	38
Full-service restaurants	18	8.8	1.14×About typical	144	$19,438	—
Lessors of real estate	17	8.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	36	$23,694	138
Other specialty trade contractors	17	8.3	3.29×More than typical	49	$46,592	90
Building equipment contractors	15	7.3	1.21×About typical	44	$58,750	27
Gasoline stations	12	5.8	1.80×More than typical	138	$23,457	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	12	5.8	1.33×More than typical	24	$38,667	24
Offices of other health practitioners	12	5.8	0.96×About typical	33	$47,000	11

Rank places for an industry Open Benton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,568 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: Lincoln is mostly in Benton County.

See federal money in Benton 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.

Lincoln, 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.

Benton County24100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Benton 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/2942608

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends