City · Ray County, Missouri

Richmond, Missouri

Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, part of the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area. It has 5,959 residents. Richmond, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,033 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #279 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on public transit commuters (high), time spent in the emergency room (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), dentists (low) and mental health providers (low).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,033 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #279 of 375 in MO
Population: 5,959 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 969.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2961670

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety36#10,024/15,637
Economy34#10,293/15,631
Housing88#1,835/14,977
Health11#13,871/15,609
Healthcare9#14,302/15,650
Environment88#1,915/15,453
Education35#10,114/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,321/15,650
Community50#7,820/15,651
Leisure & amenities5#14,937/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Richmond, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Ray 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 transit commuters · high4.0%
91/100Missouri 0.8%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Missouri 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRay County value
Job growth · high2.2%
90/100Missouri 0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataRay County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Missouri 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRay County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.4×
82/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low45.1%
80/100Missouri 45.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.4 /10k
1/100Missouri 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRay County value
Dentists · low13 /100k
2/100Missouri 64 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRay County value
Mental health providers · low43 /100k
5/100Missouri 278 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRay County value
Primary care physicians · low22 /100k
6/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRay County value
Average weekly wage · low$933
9/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRay County value
Adult smoking · high20.9%
9/100Missouri 19.5%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
5,628 (2015-2019) → 5,959 (2020-2024)
+5.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 2.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+240%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.5% (2015-2019) → 84.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
23.2 min (2015-2019) → 34.8 min (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.7% (2015-2019) → 90.0% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.0× (2015-2019) → 2.4× (2020-2024)
+22%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, Richmond, Missouri improved on 1 of 13 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.

Improved1

Broadband+13 points70.5% → 84.0%

Declined1

Commute+11.6 min23.2 min → 34.8 min

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Richmond, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.2 min2015-2019	34.8 min2020-2024	+11.6 min	Declined	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.1%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	70.5%2015-2019	84.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Improved	74%
Child poverty rate	15.8%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	1.18%2015-2019	0.90%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	72%
High school diploma or higher	84.7%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	52%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.4282020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	46%
Median household income	$51,3622015-2019	$59,5562020-2024	+16%	Within the margin of error	25%
Poverty rate	17.5%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent-burdened households	49.1%2015-2019	45.1%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.2%2015-2019	10.9%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Richmond, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Richmond, 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, Richmond, Missouri itself moved −1.3 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

5,959 residents (±34)

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

2,662 households (±172)

Richmond, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k26%696
$25k–50k20%†543
$50k–75k17%†460

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,662 households (±172)

Richmond, Missouri
Missouri share

Own57%1,515
Rent43%1,147

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

2,456 workers (±227)

Richmond, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone78%1,906
Carpool13%†327
Public transit4.0%†

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 Kansas City, MO-KS

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 Ray County, the county holding most of Richmond's residents.

Ray County has 360 employer establishments, 155 for every 10,000 residents (0.63× the US rate of 248; 0.64× Missouri's), with 2,816 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,152. The Census Bureau also counts 1,494 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 360; 1,494 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 155; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 2,816
Average annual pay: $40,152; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	55	23.7	1.53×More than typical	220	$46,300	158
Ambulatory health care services	22	9.5	0.46×Fewer than typical	153	$45,549	31
Religious organizations	20	8.6	1.56×More than typical	58	$18,759	—
Restaurants and other eating places	18	7.8	0.42×Fewer than typical	275	$16,029	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	7.3	1.46×More than typical	64	$50,484	45
Building finishing contractors	15	6.5	1.70×More than typical	32	$31,156	40
Building equipment contractors	14	6	1.00×About typical	91	$60,637	31
Other specialty trade contractors	14	6	2.41×More than typical	54	$39,852	56
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	12	5.2	1.64×More than typical	43	$35,326	31
Construction of buildings	11	4.7	0.63×Fewer than typical	37	$39,946	70
Services to buildings and dwellings	11	4.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	21	$51,571	139
Limited-service restaurants	10	4.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	198	$16,318	—

Rank places for an industry Open Ray County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,183 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 Richmond, 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

1.5KFY2017
905.3FY2018
795.4FY2019
784.2FY2022

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 Richmond, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Ray 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.

Richmond, 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.

Ray County43100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kansas City, MO-KS73

Other cities and towns in Ray 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/2961670

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends