Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,288, settled in 1857. Public schools that outperform most of Missouri.
Cuba gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $227K, 3.9 years of the county’s $58K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 95th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, its public schools beat 84% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation. Cuba’s property crime rate is 53.2 per 1,000 residents, against 15.2 in Missouri’s towns and 13.1 across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 23 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Cuba has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Uptown Cuba Historic District and Cuba High School Annex.
Where Cuba beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cuba Elem. | K–4 | 424 |
| Holy Cross School | PK–3 | 26 |
| Cuba Middle | 5–8 | 364 |
Census counts: 374 in 1880, 3,181 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1888 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Cuba is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cuba, 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 Cuba.
Cuba pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Steelville and beyond and is mostly renters.
24% of adults smoke cigarettes in Cuba. Cuba beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 39% of adults get no exercise outside work in Cuba.
| Cuba | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Cuba | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.5% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.9% | 8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $227K.
Its public schools are run by Crawford Co. R-II. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Cuba High, with 392 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 424 | A |
| Cuba HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 392 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
2,302 jobs are based in Cuba, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.3 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
About one in 4 of Cuba’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Cuba is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Sullivan (7%), Rolla (7%) and St.
| Cuba | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cuba has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 21° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $548, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
37% of Cuba households own their home. Typical home values rose 8.2% in the year to September 2026. Cuba’s median rent is $744 a month.
| Cuba | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 37% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $744 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cuba's reported crime rate is well above Missouri's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 10 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Hood Park, at 53 acres.
| Cuba | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hood Park | — | 53 |
| 2. Paul Bryan Park | — | 20 |
| 3. Mapleshade Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Cuba; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Cuba residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
Where Cuba’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Cuba on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Crawford County, Missouri, United States
Cuba is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cuba had a population of 3,181. Cuba is the largest city in Crawford County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Cuba grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #95 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health 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−.
2 notable people were born here, including Juan Pablo Ballester and Louise R. Pinnell.
