City · Howell County, Missouri

Willow Springs, Missouri

Willow Springs is a city in Howell County, Missouri, part of the West Plains, MO metro area. It has 2,279 residents. Willow Springs, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 26 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,633 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #301 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on voter turnout (high), effective property tax rate (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), primary care shortage (high) and average weekly wage (low).

26Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,633 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #301 of 375 in MO
Population: 2,279 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 630.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2980098

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety26#11,502/15,637
Economy12#13,805/15,631
Housing96#585/14,977
Health14#13,453/15,609
Healthcare22#12,258/15,650
Environment67#5,150/15,453
Education21#12,354/15,649
Infrastructure17#13,053/15,650
Community60#6,314/15,651
Leisure & amenities24#11,906/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Willow Springs, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Howell 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 · high79.6%
95/100Missouri 66.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionHowell County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.41%
93/100Missouri 0.89%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Rent as share of income · low23.3%
93/100Missouri 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low34.9%
92/100Missouri 45.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drug overdose deaths · low8.4 /100k
87/100Missouri 18.0 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHowell County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Missouri 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHowell County value

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Missouri 9.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHowell County value
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHowell County value
Average weekly wage · low$897
5/100Missouri $1,278United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHowell County value
Food environment index · low6.3
6/100Missouri 6.9United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHowell County value
Broadband subscriptions · low78.3%
6/100Missouri 89.3%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Adult smoking · high22.0%
6/100Missouri 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.

Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
23.2% (2015-2019) → 11.2% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.3× (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
70.6% (2015-2019) → 78.3% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
87.1% (2015-2019) → 80.9% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeWorsening
14.6 min (2015-2019) → 18.1 min (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateImproving
32.7% (2015-2019) → 28.2% (2020-2024)
−4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Willow Springs, Missouri improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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

Uninsured−12 points23.2% → 11.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Willow Springs, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.6 min2015-2019	18.1 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.3%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	70.6%2015-2019	78.3%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Child poverty rate	32.7%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	80.9%2020-2024	−6.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+1.0×	Within the margin of error	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5062015-2019	0.4612020-2024	−0.045	Within the margin of error	82%
Median household income	$39,5832015-2019	$41,4062020-2024	+4.6%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	20.6%2015-2019	20.5%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Rent as share of income	25.2%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	33.5%2015-2019	34.9%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.2%2015-2019	11.2%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	98%

“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 Willow Springs, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Willow Springs, 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, Willow Springs, Missouri itself moved −5.4 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,279 residents (±456)

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

927 households (±151)

Willow Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k25%†228
$25k–50k32%†293
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

927 households (±151)

Willow Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Own51%476
Rent49%451

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

949 workers (±224)

Willow Springs, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone65%614
Carpool20%†186
Public transit1.6%†15

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 West Plains, MO

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 Howell County, the county holding most of Willow Springs's residents.

Howell County has 1,076 employer establishments, 264 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248; 1.08× Missouri's), with 15,374 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,121. The Census Bureau also counts 3,424 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,076; 3,424 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 264; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 15,374
Average annual pay: $42,121; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	92	22.6	1.08×About typical	1,518	$57,308	113
Restaurants and other eating places	66	16.2	0.88×About typical	1,308	$19,119	18
Specialty trade contractors	53	13	0.84×About typical	385	$65,509	404
Automotive repair and maintenance	49	12	2.39×More than typical	210	$38,962	104
Truck transportation	47	11.5	2.28×More than typical	231	$50,368	152
Lessors of real estate	43	10.6	0.86×About typical	97	$36,299	244
Religious organizations	40	9.8	1.77×More than typical	187	$18,545	—
Individual and family services	33	8.1	2.89×More than typical	380	$27,511	12
Full-service restaurants	32	7.9	1.02×About typical	434	$20,767	6
Offices of other health practitioners	31	7.6	1.25×More than typical	131	$40,244	53
Insurance agencies and brokerages	26	6.4	1.45×More than typical	100	$43,790	39
Limited-service restaurants	26	6.4	0.80×Fewer than typical	831	$18,350	9

Rank places for an industry Open Howell County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 40,725 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 $562 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Willow Springs, Missouri: $0.25 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $562
Per resident: $0.25; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; 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

Forest Service$562100%

Top recipients

CLINTON DOZING & GRADING LLC$562100%

Spending by fiscal year

467.3FY2018
1.7KFY2019
6.6KFY2020
216.5FY2021
-0.2FY2023
562FY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property$562100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$562100%

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 Willow Springs, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Willow Springs, Missouri's figures are part of those of Howell County, MO ($52.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Howell 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.

Willow Springs, 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.

Howell County26100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

West Plains, MO22

Other cities and towns in Howell 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/2980098

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends