City · New Madrid County, Missouri

New Madrid, Missouri

New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri. It has 2,662 residents. New Madrid, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,654 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #343 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), students per teacher (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), dentists (low) and life expectancy (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,654 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #343 of 375 in MO
Population: 2,662 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 591.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2952076

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.

Safety1#15,471/15,637
Economy36#9,933/15,631
Housing98#295/14,977
Health7#14,488/15,609
Healthcare1#15,497/15,650
Environment7#14,430/15,453
Education74#4,067/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,306/15,650
Community32#10,633/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,121/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public libraries · high5.2 /10k
99/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesNew Madrid County value
Students per teacher · low9.9×
98/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsNew Madrid County value
Grocery stores · high4.0 /10k
98/100Missouri 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNew Madrid County value
Unemployment rate · low0.7%
94/100Missouri 4.0%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Pharmacies · high2.7 /10k
92/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNew Madrid County value
Average commute time · low16.8 min
91/100Missouri 23.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low6 /100k
0/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNew Madrid County value
Dentists · low7 /100k
1/100Missouri 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNew Madrid County value
Life expectancy · low69.3 yrs
2/100Missouri 75.7 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNew Madrid County value
Mental health providers · low26 /100k
2/100Missouri 278 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNew Madrid County value
Traffic deaths · high45.7 /100k
2/100Missouri 16.2 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataNew Madrid County value
Premature death · high15,872 /100k
3/100Missouri 9,683 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNew Madrid County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,898 (2015-2019) → 2,662 (2020-2024)
−8.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
56.3% (2015-2019) → 8.8% (2020-2024)
−48 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
29.0% (2015-2019) → 12.3% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
48.4% (2015-2019) → 37.1% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.1% (2015-2019) → 86.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,833 (2015-2019) → $57,727 (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, New Madrid, Missouri improved on 2 of 12 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.

Improved2

Poverty−17 points29.0% → 12.3%
Broadband+11 points75.1% → 86.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of New Madrid, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.4 min2015-2019	16.8 min2020-2024	−6.7 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Broadband subscriptions	75.1%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	65%
Effective property tax rate	0.78%2015-2019	0.64%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
High school diploma or higher	84.4%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4092015-2019	0.4052020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$39,8332015-2019	$57,7272020-2024	+45%	Within the margin of error	80%
Poverty rate	29.0%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	−17 points	Improved	98%
Rent as share of income	27.8%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent-burdened households	48.4%2015-2019	37.1%2020-2024	−11 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.7%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	86%

“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 New Madrid, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of New Madrid, 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, New Madrid, Missouri itself moved +13.5 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

2,662 residents (±32)

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

1,156 households (±116)

New Madrid, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k15%†169
$25k–50k32%†369
$50k–75k22%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,156 households (±116)

New Madrid, Missouri
Missouri share

Own60%694
Rent40%462

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

1,088 workers (±154)

New Madrid, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone90%983
Carpool9.7%†105
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 New Madrid County, the county holding most of New Madrid's residents.

New Madrid County has 376 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 1.00× Missouri's), with 6,096 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,672. The Census Bureau also counts 886 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 376; 886 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 6,096
Average annual pay: $45,672; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	32	20.8	1.00×About typical	706	$36,942	30
Individual and family services	23	14.9	5.33×More than typical	179	$22,905	5
Restaurants and other eating places	23	14.9	0.81×About typical	500	$19,064	10
Religious organizations	16	10.4	1.87×More than typical	49	$15,163	—
Gasoline stations	14	9.1	2.80×More than typical	315	$33,003	—
Limited-service restaurants	13	8.4	1.05×About typical	369	$18,656	—
General merchandise stores	12	7.8	4.40×More than typical	394	$30,157	10
Home health care services	12	7.8	6.43×More than typical	469	$26,991	17
Truck transportation	11	7.1	1.41×More than typical	284	$43,356	26
Full-service restaurants	10	6.5	0.84×About typical	131	$20,214	3
Services to buildings and dwellings	10	6.5	0.96×About typical	18	$29,222	85
Banks and credit unions	9	5.8	1.81×Too few to compare	104	$44,462	—

Rank places for an industry Open New Madrid County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,415 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 New Madrid, Missouri: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

INNOVATIVE PERFORMANCE CONSTRUCTION CO LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

222KFY2017
31.2KFY2018
209.7KFY2019
-1.8KFY2020
68.6KFY2021
3.8KFY2022
350.1KFY2023
141.9KFY2024
107.8K

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 New Madrid, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in New Madrid 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.

New Madrid, 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.

New Madrid County18100% of residents

Other cities and towns in New Madrid 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/2952076

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends