Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Missouri town.
Chillicothe gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $188K for a typical one, or 3 years of the county’s $64K median household income. It grades B overall, 92nd of 247 graded towns in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 85% of the country, and the median household income is $54K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 85% of Missouri towns. 45% of working residents work locally in Chillicothe, where Missouri’s towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 2 of Missouri’s 390 towns score higher on civic life. Chillicothe has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Grace Episcopal Church and Building and Chillicothe Commercial Historic District.
Where Chillicothe beats most towns.
Grace Episcopal Church and BuildingEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Chillicothe is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 994 in 1860, 9,107 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1867 and 2 maps from 1921 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chillicothe, 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 Chillicothe.
Chillicothe fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and has property taxes about half the Missouri norm.
5.2 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Daryl Danner Memorial Park, 39 acres with 1.3 miles of trail. Chillicothe’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Chillicothe | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Daryl Danner Memorial Park | 1.3 mi | 39 |
| 2. Simpson Park | 1 mi | 34 |
| 3. June Shaffer Memorial Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
33% of Chillicothe adults get no exercise outside work. Chillicothe beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Chillicothe adults smoke cigarettes.
| Chillicothe | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| What stands out | Chillicothe | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8% |
| More smokers | 19.2% | 16% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.4% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $967, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Chillicothe is $782 a month. The typical Chillicothe home is worth about $188,000, up 0.5% in a year, 29% below the Missouri typical home.
| Chillicothe | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $782 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Chillicothe has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 18° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Kansas City (7%), St. Joseph (3%) and Trenton (3%). Half commute less than 19 miles.
| Chillicothe | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chillicothe.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 19.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 60% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 131 to 65 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Chillicothe; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Chillicothe residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
4 places in Chillicothe on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Chillicothe.
City in Missouri, United States
Chillicothe ( chil-ih-KOTH-ee) is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. The name Chillicothe is Shawnee for 'big town'. Chillicothe is known as "The Home of Sliced Bread". For many years its schools were segregated and African American students attended what eventually became known as Garrison School, named after William Lloyd Garrison.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Chillicothe.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chillicothe · Chillicothe Township | #92 | B | A | B− | A | D |
| Rich Hill Township | — | — | C− | — | A | C− |
Rich Hill Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Rich Hill Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Chillicothe Township and Chillicothe are one community, graded once. Compare Chillicothe with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Chillicothe grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #92 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
10 notable people were born here, including Courtney W. Campbell and Shirley Collie Nelson.
