City · Chariton County, Missouri

Salisbury, Missouri

Salisbury is a city in Chariton County, Missouri. It has 1,540 residents. Salisbury, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 53 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,306 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #123 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), home price to income ratio (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and average weekly wage (low).

53Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,306 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #123 of 375 in MO
Population: 1,540 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,150.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2965450

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.

Safety40#9,427/15,637
Economy37#9,810/15,631
Housing98#316/14,977
Health32#10,654/15,609
Healthcare11#13,989/15,650
Environment62#5,932/15,453
Education85#2,405/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,418/15,650
Community80#3,097/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,799/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Salisbury, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chariton 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 · low8.5×
100/100Missouri 12.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsChariton County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.6×
98/100Missouri 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · low15.8%
96/100Missouri 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Drought exposure · low0%
95/100Missouri 33%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAChariton County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Missouri 7.7 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataChariton County value
Pharmacies · high2.7 /10k
93/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChariton County value

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low14 /100k
2/100Missouri 72 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChariton County value
Distance to an emergency room · high19.6 mi
3/100Missouri 6.6 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesChariton County value
Average weekly wage · low$858
3/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChariton County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Missouri 5.3 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyChariton County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Missouri 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChariton County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low38.6%
5/100Missouri 76.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChariton County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,754 (2015-2019) → 1,540 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.5% (2015-2019) → 89.5% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.8% (2015-2019) → 27.2% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.5% (2015-2019) → 21.5% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
27.6% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,422 (2015-2019) → $65,329 (2020-2024)
+58%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, Salisbury, Missouri improved on 4 of 14 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.

Improved4

Uninsured−8.8 points16.9% → 8.0%
Household income+58%$41,422 → $65,329
Broadband+18 points71.5% → 89.5%
Bachelor's++7.6 points15.0% → 22.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Salisbury, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.6 min2015-2019	21.7 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.0%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Improved	82%
Broadband subscriptions	71.5%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Child poverty rate	33.5%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Effective property tax rate	1.06%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	72%
High school diploma or higher	90.1%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.6×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4192015-2019	0.4292020-2024	+0.011	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$41,4222015-2019	$65,3292020-2024	+58%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	22.0%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	−5.1 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Rent-burdened households	44.8%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.9%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Improved	95%

“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 Salisbury, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Salisbury, 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, Salisbury, 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

1,540 residents (±181)

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

591 households (±80)

Salisbury, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k18%†107
$25k–50k19%†114
$50k–75k22%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

591 households (±80)

Salisbury, Missouri
Missouri share

Own76%447
Rent24%144

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

714 workers (±110)

Salisbury, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone75%533
Carpool12%†87
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 Chariton County, the county holding most of Salisbury's residents.

Chariton County has 197 employer establishments, 266 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Missouri's), with 1,245 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,556. The Census Bureau also counts 652 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 197; 652 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 266; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 1,245
Average annual pay: $43,556; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	18	24.3	4.81×More than typical	38	$41,132	22
Specialty trade contractors	13	17.6	1.13×About typical	57	$40,035	83
Religious organizations	11	14.9	2.68×More than typical	45	$15,711	—
Restaurants and other eating places	11	14.9	0.81×About typical	69	$11,870	3
Ambulatory health care services	9	12.2	0.58×Too few to compare	42	$67,000	16
Other specialty trade contractors	9	12.2	4.84×Too few to compare	43	$39,209	29
Full-service restaurants	7	9.5	1.23×Too few to compare	48	$11,958	—
Gasoline stations	7	9.5	2.92×Too few to compare	47	$28,957	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	8.1	1.61×Too few to compare	15	$42,533	19
Banks and credit unions	6	8.1	2.51×Too few to compare	52	$55,692	—
Lessors of real estate	6	8.1	0.66×Too few to compare	14	$21,857	33
Offices of other health practitioners	5	6.8	1.11×Too few to compare	9	$38,000	8

Rank places for an industry Open Chariton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,401 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: Salisbury is mostly in Chariton County.

See federal money in Chariton 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.

Salisbury, 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.

Chariton County57100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Chariton 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/2965450

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends