Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,017, settled in 1905.
Chaffee gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $147K, 2.5 years of the Sikeston area’s $59K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 169th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its public schools trail 85% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 76% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Only 6 of the 242 Missouri towns we compare have a lower median rent than Chaffee. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Chaffee beats most towns.
Where Chaffee’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 Chaffee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,082 in 1910, 3,057 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 2 maps from 1934 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chaffee, 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 Chaffee.
Chaffee fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Its public schools are run by Chaffee R-II. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaffee Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 293 | C |
| Chaffee JR.-SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 269 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
At 2.5 years of the Sikeston area’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $147K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. Values fell 5.5% in the past year while the Missouri typical home rose 3.4%.
Typical home values fell 5.5% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here grew from 345 in 2013 to 466.
Most working residents leave Chaffee for work: only 9% work in town. Chaffee’s median household income is $44,000, against $62,000 in Missouri’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. The average trip to work in Chaffee is 19 minutes.
| Chaffee | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 9.2% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Chaffee’s FEMA risk score is 76 of 100, above both the Missouri town median (54 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100). Since 1993, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chaffee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chaffee has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Chaffee’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 3,515 U.S. towns with household incomes like Chaffee’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Missouri it is healthier than 56% of the 247 graded towns: much of Missouri scores lower on these measures.
Chaffee beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of Chaffee adults get no exercise outside work.
| Chaffee | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| What stands out | Chaffee | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.8% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 19.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 61% of Missouri’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Chaffee
About 4 of every 100 Chaffee residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
Chaffee is a city in Scott County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,057 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Chaffee grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #169 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C+ for health, B− for safety and C− for schools. Schools 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.