City · Randolph County, Missouri

Moberly, Missouri

Moberly is a city in Randolph County, Missouri, part of the Moberly, MO metro area. It has 13,526 residents. Moberly, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,912 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #275 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and average commute time (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), dental care shortage (high) and adult smoking (high).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,912 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #275 of 375 in MO
Population: 13,526 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 1,026.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2949034

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.

Safety31#10,808/15,637
Economy11#13,864/15,631
Housing75#3,696/14,977
Health16#13,068/15,609
Healthcare20#12,589/15,650
Environment94#920/15,453
Education34#10,356/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,319/15,650
Community60#6,267/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#12,048/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Students per teacher · low10.5×
96/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsRandolph County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
90/100Missouri 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRandolph County value
Average commute time · low19.1 min
88/100Missouri 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
87/100Missouri 11.5 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRandolph County value
Drug overdose deaths · low8.5 /100k
86/100Missouri 18.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataRandolph County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Missouri 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRandolph County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high120 mi
6/100Missouri 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRandolph County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRandolph County value
Adult smoking · high22.0%
6/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$44,145
9/100Missouri $71,583United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Missouri 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRandolph County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRandolph County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
3.3 /1k (2021) → 8.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+153%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.5% (2015-2019) → 83.2% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$37,021 (2015-2019) → $44,145 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
21.2% (2015-2019) → 18.4% (2020-2024)
−2.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
29.1% (2015-2019) → 31.7% (2020-2024)
+2.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Moberly, Missouri improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved2

Broadband+9.8 points73.5% → 83.2%
Household income+19%$37,021 → $44,145

Declined1

Price / income+0.9×2.5× → 3.5×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Moberly, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	19.1 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	45%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.6%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Broadband subscriptions	73.5%2015-2019	83.2%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Improved	59%
Child poverty rate	29.1%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	1.14%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
High school diploma or higher	85.7%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	25%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4512015-2019	0.4342020-2024	−0.017	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$37,0212015-2019	$44,1452020-2024	+19%	Improved	31%
Poverty rate	21.2%2015-2019	18.4%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent as share of income	29.7%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent-burdened households	48.9%2015-2019	48.0%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.6%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Moberly, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Moberly, 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, Moberly, Missouri itself moved −0.7 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

13,526 residents (±24)

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

5,103 households (±234)

Moberly, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k20%1,029
$25k–50k36%1,829
$50k–75k13%684

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,103 households (±234)

Moberly, Missouri
Missouri share

Own59%2,998
Rent41%2,105

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,452 workers (±342)

Moberly, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone80%4,370
Carpool12%†635
Public transit0.3%†18

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 Moberly, 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 Randolph County, the county holding most of Moberly's residents.

Randolph County has 551 employer establishments, 228 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Missouri's), with 8,063 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,785. The Census Bureau also counts 1,507 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 551; 1,507 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 228; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 8,063
Average annual pay: $45,785; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	42	17.4	0.84×About typical	302	$66,997	47
Restaurants and other eating places	38	15.8	0.86×About typical	609	$17,079	4
Specialty trade contractors	32	13.3	0.86×About typical	111	$45,901	193
Religious organizations	28	11.6	2.09×More than typical	107	$14,168	—
Truck transportation	26	10.8	2.13×More than typical	184	$62,978	45
Full-service restaurants	18	7.5	0.97×About typical	207	$15,961	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	7	1.40×More than typical	74	$38,541	36
Insurance agencies and brokerages	17	7	1.60×More than typical	40	$45,325	32
Lessors of real estate	17	7	0.57×Fewer than typical	67	$41,269	123
Individual and family services	15	6.2	2.22×More than typical	155	$31,290	5
Limited-service restaurants	15	6.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	366	$17,669	—
Gasoline stations	12	5	1.53×More than typical	143	$24,937	—

Rank places for an industry Open Randolph County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,120 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 $6,717 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Moberly, Missouri: $0.50 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6,717; −83% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.50; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$11.1K100%
U.S. Coast Guard$70410%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.7KFY2017
18.4KFY2018
4.5KFY2019
127.8KFY2020
13.4KFY2021
22.7KFY2022
33.6KFY2023
45.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Commercial and service industry machinery manufacturing · 3333$10.2K100%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$70410%
Other transportation equipment manufacturing · 3369$6319.4%
Hardware manufacturing · 3325$2273.4%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Moberly, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Moberly, Missouri's figures are part of those of Randolph County, MO ($123.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 5.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Randolph 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.

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

House

Sam GravesR-MO-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 7.0%

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.

Randolph County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Moberly, MO35

Other cities and towns in Randolph 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/2949034

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends