Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Boonville gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $198K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the Columbia metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C overall, 161st among Missouri's 247 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $56K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line, and residents are less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, it has 6 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 31 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Lyric Theater and Rivercene. 29% of working residents work locally in Boonville, above both Missouri’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (8%). Boonville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Boonville beats most towns.
Lyric Theater
Census counts: 2,326 in 1850, 7,964 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1864 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
30 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Boonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Boonville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Boonville.
Boonville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
5.6 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Rolling Hills Park, at 75 acres. The trail density in Boonville is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Boonville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frederick T. Kemper Park | 0.8 mi | 49 |
| 2. Rolling Hills Park | 0.4 mi | 75 |
| 3. Lions Park | 0.3 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Boonville R-I school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Boonville High, with 527 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hannah Cole PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 419 | – |
| Boonville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 527 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
The nearest emergency room, University of Missouri Health Care, is 22.6 miles away in a straight line. Against the 7,859 U.S. towns with household incomes like Boonville’s, it is less healthy than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of Boonville adults smoke cigarettes. Boonville beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 39% of Boonville adults have obesity.
| Boonville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Boonville | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10.6% | 9% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.7% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 32.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of Missouri’s graded towns.
Boonville’s property crime rate is 20.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Boonville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.4 per 1,000 residents | 12.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $198K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles.
The typical Boonville home is worth about $198,000, up 4.3% in a year, 25% below the Missouri typical home.
| Boonville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $767 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 63% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Boonville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 21° and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Boonville has about as many jobs (3,462) as working residents, but only 946 people both live and work here.
About one in 3 of Boonville’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Boonville has lost 545 jobs, to 3,462 in 2023. The top destinations are Columbia (29%), Jefferson City (4%) and Kansas City (2%).
| Boonville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $56,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Boonville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Boonville
About 2 of every 100 Boonville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
30 places in Boonville on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Boonville.
City in Missouri, United States
Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated the Missouri State Guard in the first Battle of Boonville. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Boonville.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boonville | #161 | C | A− | C− | B− | C− |
| Windsor Place | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Windsor Place isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Boonville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Boonville grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #161 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
21 notable people were born here, including Sara Evans and Don Dee.
