Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Doniphan’s best subject grade is an A− for history; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Doniphan, where Missouri’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On incomes, just 8 of Missouri’s 419 towns do worse. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the outdoors, just 25 of Missouri’s 419 towns do worse. Doniphan has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Randolph Columbus Barrett House and Ripley County Courthouse. Doniphan has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Doniphan beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Doniphan’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 Doniphan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 146 in 1870, 1,781 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Doniphan, 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 Doniphan.
21% of adults report frequent physical distress in Doniphan, above both Missouri’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (14%). 33% of Doniphan adults say their health is fair or poor. Doniphan beats the Missouri average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19.
| Doniphan | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Doniphan | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.8% | 16.3% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.7% | 77.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 32.1% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Doniphan R-I school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Doniphan High, with 487 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doniphan Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 351 | – |
| Doniphan HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 487 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
About one in 3 of Doniphan’s working residents works in town. Doniphan’s median household income is $38,000. Since 2013, Doniphan has lost 179 jobs, to 1,547 in 2023.
| Doniphan | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 31% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $38,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The FEMA risk score in Doniphan is 88 of 100. Since 1979, 74 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Doniphan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Doniphan home is worth about $159,000, up 6.4% in a year, 40% below the Missouri typical home. 57% of households own their home in Doniphan.
| Doniphan | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $664 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Doniphan has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 26° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Doniphan; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Doniphan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
1,997 counted in 2010 and 1,781 in 2020; an estimated 1,784 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 places in Doniphan on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Doniphan.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Doniphan is a city and the county seat of Ripley County, Missouri, United States, that is on the Current River. The population was 1,781 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.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($42,037 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Billy Yates and Matt Rogers.
