City · Wright County, Missouri

Mountain Grove, Missouri

Mountain Grove is a city in Wright County, Missouri. It has 4,491 residents. Mountain Grove, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 38 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,683 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #215 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), average commute time (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and primary care physicians (low).

38Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,683 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #215 of 375 in MO
Population: 4,491 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,118.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2950402

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.

Safety62#5,994/15,637
Economy27#11,403/15,631
Housing94#964/14,977
Health4#15,060/15,609
Healthcare2#15,394/15,650
Environment83#2,629/15,453
Education75#3,867/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,467/15,650
Community39#9,534/15,651
Leisure & amenities25#11,698/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Property crime rate · low343 /100k
95/100Missouri 1,644 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWright County value
Average commute time · low14.0 min
95/100Missouri 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Missouri 7.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWright County value
Unemployment rate · low1.0%
92/100Missouri 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Students per teacher · low11.3×
92/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWright County value
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
89/100Missouri 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWright County value

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$796
1/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWright County value
Distance to an emergency room · high27.8 mi
1/100Missouri 6.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWright County value
Primary care physicians · low16 /100k
3/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value
Adult smoking · high24.4%
3/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Access to exercise opportunities · low33.4%
3/100Missouri 76.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Missouri 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWright County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.4 /1k (2021) → 3.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+177%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
54.3% (2015-2019) → 20.0% (2020-2024)
−34 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.6% (2015-2019) → 85.2% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
35.5% (2015-2019) → 17.8% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$26,717 (2015-2019) → $37,415 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
21.4 min (2015-2019) → 14.0 min (2020-2024)
−35%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Mountain Grove, Missouri improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved3

Poverty−18 points35.5% → 17.8%
Commute−7.4 min21.4 min → 14.0 min
Broadband+20 points65.6% → 85.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Mountain Grove, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.4 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	−7.4 min	Improved	96%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.6%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	65.6%2015-2019	85.2%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	89%
Effective property tax rate	0.56%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	79.1%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	−0.5×	Within the margin of error	93%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4742015-2019	0.4482020-2024	−0.026	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$26,7172015-2019	$37,4152020-2024	+40%	Within the margin of error	74%
Poverty rate	35.5%2015-2019	17.8%2020-2024	−18 points	Improved	99%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.8%2015-2019	28.9%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Rent-burdened households	49.2%2015-2019	45.4%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.3%2015-2019	16.6%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%

“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 Mountain Grove, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mountain Grove, 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, Mountain Grove, Missouri itself moved +13 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

4,491 residents (±73)

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

1,957 households (±205)

Mountain Grove, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k22%†422
$25k–50k37%†726
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,957 households (±205)

Mountain Grove, Missouri
Missouri share

Own75%1,473
Rent25%†484

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+18.8 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

1,830 workers (±203)

Mountain Grove, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone87%1,596
Carpool3.0%†54
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 Wright County, the county holding most of Mountain Grove's residents.

Wright County has 438 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Missouri's), with 3,892 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,834. The Census Bureau also counts 1,806 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 438; 1,806 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 3,892
Average annual pay: $36,834; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	29	14.9	0.97×About typical	79	$40,557	253
Restaurants and other eating places	27	13.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	374	$17,604	12
Religious organizations	23	11.9	2.14×More than typical	101	$20,891	—
Ambulatory health care services	21	10.8	0.52×Fewer than typical	272	$53,614	26
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	10.3	2.05×More than typical	57	$33,175	51
Truck transportation	20	10.3	2.04×More than typical	59	$36,780	113
Construction of buildings	16	8.2	1.09×About typical	69	$50,942	202
Full-service restaurants	15	7.7	1.01×About typical	124	$19,742	5
Banks and credit unions	13	6.7	2.07×More than typical	131	$47,847	—
Lessors of real estate	12	6.2	0.50×Fewer than typical	26	$27,769	126
Building equipment contractors	11	5.7	0.94×About typical	45	$44,556	35
Gasoline stations	11	5.7	1.75×More than typical	181	$24,210	—

Rank places for an industry Open Wright County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,401 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: Mountain Grove is mostly in Wright County.

See federal money in Wright 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.

Mountain Grove, 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.

Other cities and towns in Wright 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/2950402

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends