City · Taney County, Missouri

Merriam Woods, Missouri

Merriam Woods is a city in Taney County, Missouri, part of the Branson, MO metro area. It has 2,047 residents. Merriam Woods, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,951 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #311 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on new homes permitted (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on distance to an emergency room (high), average weekly wage (low) and public libraries (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,951 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #311 of 375 in MO
Population: 2,047 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,351.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2947520

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.

Safety15#13,328/15,637
Economy10#14,048/15,631
Housing96#596/14,977
Health8#14,313/15,609
Healthcare12#13,766/15,650
Environment31#10,670/15,453
Education56#6,846/15,649
Infrastructure23#12,036/15,650
Community29#11,083/15,651
Leisure & amenities76#3,798/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Merriam Woods, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Taney 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 · high482.7 /1k
100/100Missouri 3.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high22.5 /10k
100/100Missouri 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTaney County value
Restaurants and bars · high19.0 /10k
98/100Missouri 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTaney County value
Public EV charging ports · high13.9 /10k
89/100Missouri 5.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTaney County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
87/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
New business applications · high18.7 /1k
86/100Missouri 16.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauTaney County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an emergency room · high27.6 mi
1/100Missouri 6.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTaney County value
Average weekly wage · low$838
2/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTaney County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
4/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesTaney County value
Food environment index · low6.1
4/100Missouri 6.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTaney County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low9.7%
6/100Missouri 32.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Distance to an Amtrak station · high131 mi
6/100Missouri 33 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauTaney County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,210 (2015-2019) → 2,047 (2020-2024)
−7.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
2.3 /1k (2021) → 482.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+20,490%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.6% (2015-2019) → 40.3% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.4% (2015-2019) → 54.1% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
30.4% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.7× (2015-2019) → 2.2× (2020-2024)
+31%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, Merriam Woods, Missouri improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Declined1

Inequality+0.0660.341 → 0.408

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Merriam Woods, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	28.2 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.3%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	85.4%2015-2019	87.9%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Child poverty rate	37.4%2015-2019	41.7%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	81.5%2015-2019	86.7%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	46%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3412015-2019	0.4082020-2024	+0.066	Declined	11%
Median household income	$40,0552015-2019	$52,2502020-2024	+30%	Within the margin of error	56%
Poverty rate	28.2%2015-2019	25.2%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	41.4%2015-2019	54.1%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Unemployment rate	10.8%2015-2019	10.8%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	30.4%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−7.9 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 Merriam Woods, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Merriam Woods, 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, Merriam Woods, Missouri itself moved −7.6 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

2,047 residents (±380)

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

668 households (±132)

Merriam Woods, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k23%†156
$25k–50k25%169
$50k–75k18%†122

Homes

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

Owners and renters

668 households (±132)

Merriam Woods, Missouri
Missouri share

Own82%548
Rent18%†120

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+18.9 points).

† 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

831 workers (±183)

Merriam Woods, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone69%577
Carpool19%†162
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 Branson, 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 Taney County, the county holding most of Merriam Woods's residents.

Taney County has 1,928 employer establishments, 339 for every 10,000 residents (1.37× the US rate of 248; 1.39× Missouri's), with 24,801 paid employees at an average annual pay of $38,044. The Census Bureau also counts 5,651 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,928; 5,651 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 339; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 24,801
Average annual pay: $38,044; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	191	33.6	1.83×More than typical	4,152	$24,455	32
Lessors of real estate	169	29.7	2.41×More than typical	1,594	$55,194	708
Traveler accommodation	108	19	10.5×More than typical	3,193	$35,533	73
Real estate agents and brokers	105	18.5	3.80×More than typical	970	$67,479	203
Specialty trade contractors	105	18.5	1.19×About typical	636	$46,642	455
Clothing and accessories stores	98	17.2	4.75×More than typical	1,079	$24,522	49
Full-service restaurants	96	16.9	2.20×More than typical	2,528	$25,491	13
Ambulatory health care services	89	15.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	806	$63,990	88
Services to buildings and dwellings	71	12.5	1.85×More than typical	889	$29,804	594
Religious organizations	60	10.6	1.90×More than typical	437	$29,371	—
Limited-service restaurants	56	9.9	1.23×About typical	1,103	$21,383	10
Construction of buildings	53	9.3	1.23×About typical	200	$49,480	285

Rank places for an industry Open Taney County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 56,830 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: Merriam Woods is mostly in Taney County.

See federal money in Taney 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.

Merriam Woods, Missouri is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Eric BurlisonR-MO-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 4.6%

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.

Taney County38100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Branson, MO33

Other cities and towns in Taney 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/2947520

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends