Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall it grades C−, 187th among Missouri's 247 graded towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $51K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $236K, 3.8 years of the Joplin metro’s $62K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Carthage, where Missouri’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On history, just 17 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Carthage Municipal Park, at 220 acres.
Where Carthage beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Carthage’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Carthage is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,167 in 1880, 15,522 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1891 and 5 maps from 1886 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carthage, 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 Carthage.
Carthage draws workers from Joplin and beyond and fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally, but it has poverty well above the Missouri rate.
19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Carthage. Carthage beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 76% of adults had a checkup this year in Carthage.
| Carthage | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 30% | 25% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 9.4% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Carthage | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 18.5% | 8.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 32.5% | 15.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 24.4% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Carthage R-Ix school district. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carthage JR. HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 773 | B− |
| Carthage High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,626 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
8,604 jobs are based in Carthage, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.5 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
About one in 3 of Carthage’s working residents works in town. Carthage’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. Jobs based in Carthage grew to 8,604 in 2023, 2,158 more than in 2013.
| Carthage | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.5% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Carthage has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Carthage is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
61.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.6% across Missouri.
53% of Carthage households own their home. The typical Carthage home is worth about $237,000, up 1.9% in a year, 11% below the Missouri typical home.
| Carthage | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $975 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carthage.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Carthage | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 2. Carthage Municipal Park | — | 220 |
| 3. Kellogg Lake Park | — | 57 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 19.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 60% of Missouri’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Carthage
About 3 of every 100 Carthage residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
7 places in Carthage on the National Register of Historic Places.
27 notable people were born in Carthage.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carthage grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #187 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
27 notable people were born here, including Janet L. Kavandi and Preston Lacy.
