Scores by category

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

Safety42#9,031/15,637
Economy43#8,932/15,631
Housing93#1,067/14,977
Health13#13,591/15,609
Healthcare7#14,628/15,650
Environment47#8,226/15,453
Education28#11,301/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,343/15,650
Community70#4,630/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,277/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Voter turnout · high82.4%
98/100Missouri 66.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionLawrence County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.36%
95/100Missouri 0.89%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New homes permitted · high18.0 /1k
95/100Missouri 3.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Job growth · high2.5%
91/100Missouri 0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLawrence County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.373
87/100Missouri 0.465United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
87/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLawrence County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high37.3 /100k
4/100Missouri 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataLawrence County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.3 /10k
4/100Missouri 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLawrence County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high119 mi
7/100Missouri 33 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLawrence County value
Adult smoking · high21.4%
8/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Math scores · low2.60
9/100Missouri 2.95United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
3.1 /1k (2021) → 18.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+474%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
29.5% (2015-2019) → 12.3% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.7% (2015-2019) → 90.2% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
57.1% (2015-2019) → 43.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
7.0% (2015-2019) → 17.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+41%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, Mount Vernon, Missouri improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 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

Inequality−0.1280.501 → 0.373
Broadband+15 points75.7% → 90.2%

Declined2

Uninsured+11 points7.0% → 17.6%
Price / income+1.0×2.5× → 3.5×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Mount Vernon, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.0 min2015-2019	24.7 min2020-2024	+2.7 min	Within the margin of error	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.6%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Broadband subscriptions	75.7%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	78%
Child poverty rate	29.5%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.36%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	80%
High school diploma or higher	87.4%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5012015-2019	0.3732020-2024	−0.128	Improved	98%
Median household income	$42,6892015-2019	$53,2552020-2024	+25%	Within the margin of error	43%
Poverty rate	18.1%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	27.7%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Rent-burdened households	57.1%2015-2019	43.5%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.0%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	3%

“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 Mount Vernon, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mount Vernon, 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, Mount Vernon, Missouri itself moved +16 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

4,563 residents (±19)

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: 20–29 women (+5.1 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

4,563 residents (±19)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

White89%4,068
Black1.4%†63
Hispanic or Latino3.6%†162
Asian0.8%†35
American Indian and Alaska Native0.2%†8
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races5.0%†227

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−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 B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,987 residents (±205)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

No high school diploma9.5%†285
High school or GED37%1,112
Some college23%693
Associate degree10%†310
Bachelor's degree15%†449
Graduate degree4.6%†138

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Bachelor's degree (+8.4 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 B15003View 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.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,707 households (±169)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k22%†384
$25k–50k24%†407
$50k–75k22%384
$75k–100k13%†218
$100k–150k16%†273
$150k–200k1.9%†32
$200k or more0.5%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+11.8 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

1,707 households (±169)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Own57%966
Rent43%741

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

731 households (±184)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $75062%†455
$750–1,00011%†81
$1,000–1,50025%†183

Home values

966 homes (±117)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $150k36%†352
$150k–250k43%411
$250k–400k14%†137

Age of homes

1,866 homes (±175)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

2010 or later5.9%†111
2000–200918%†337
1980–199914%†252

Size of homes

1,866 homes (±175)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Studio3.2%†60
1 bedroom12%†227
2 bedrooms25%†466

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

2,050 workers (±199)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone76%1,566
Carpool12%†245
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.7%†14
Bike2.0%†42
Work from home8.5%†174
Other0.4%†9

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

1,876 workers (±199)

Mount Vernon, Missouri
Missouri share

Under 15 min35%650
15–29 min26%†479
30–44 min20%†382

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 Lawrence County, the county holding most of Mount Vernon's residents.

Lawrence County has 689 employer establishments, 177 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Missouri's), with 6,385 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,712. The Census Bureau also counts 3,122 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 689; 3,122 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 177; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 6,385
Average annual pay: $44,712; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	63	16.2	1.05×About typical	217	$43,074	413
Restaurants and other eating places	48	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	710	$17,221	17
Religious organizations	46	11.8	2.13×More than typical	246	$20,695	—
Truck transportation	45	11.6	2.29×More than typical	232	$54,440	131
Ambulatory health care services	34	8.7	0.42×Fewer than typical	313	$63,089	57
Limited-service restaurants	28	7.2	0.90×About typical	512	$17,709	5
Gasoline stations	25	6.4	1.98×More than typical	248	$35,778	—
Building equipment contractors	24	6.2	1.03×About typical	74	$43,514	95
Automotive repair and maintenance	21	5.4	1.07×About typical	79	$50,557	85
Construction of buildings	20	5.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	53	$38,906	288
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	19	4.9	1.55×More than typical	57	$36,807	94
Services to buildings and dwellings	17	4.4	0.65×Fewer than typical	29	$22,069	221

Rank places for an industry Open Lawrence County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,902 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 Mount Vernon, Missouri: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
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

143.7KFY2017
31.3KFY2018
15.8KFY2019
14.9KFY2020
2.7KFY2021
3.6KFY2022
3.2KFY2023
0FY2024

What was bought

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 Mount Vernon, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Lawrence 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.

Mount Vernon, 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.

Lawrence County27100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lawrence 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/2950672