Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
East Prairie gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $120K, 2 years of the Sikeston area’s $59K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 204th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Only 7 of the 247 Missouri towns we compare have a lower median household income than East Prairie. The biggest park or preserve is Kathie Simpkins Park, at 22 acres. Among 247 Missouri towns, just 8 have a higher January low than East Prairie.
Where East Prairie beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | East Prairie | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 37.5% | 15.8% |
Where East Prairie’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 East Prairie is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 1%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 298 in 1890, 2,943 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in East Prairie, 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 East Prairie.
East Prairie fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Missouri (mostly earthquakes).
34% of East Prairie adults say their health is fair or poor, above both the Missouri town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (19%). 21% of East Prairie adults report frequent physical distress. Among 247 Missouri towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than East Prairie.
| East Prairie | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | East Prairie | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 37.5% | 15.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 26.4% | 13.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 15.3% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by East Prairie R-II. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is East Prairie High, with 301 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Prairie ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 412 | C |
| East Prairie HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 301 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
At 2 years of the Sikeston area’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $120K) costs less against local pay than in 90% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $570, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
48% of East Prairie households own their home, below both Missouri’s towns (64%) and U.S. towns (73%). East Prairie’s median rent is $750 a month. The typical East Prairie home is worth about $120,000, about the same as a year ago, 55% below the Missouri typical home.
| East Prairie | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $750 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Missouri towns, with expected losses of about $1,376 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Among 247 Missouri towns, just 5 have a higher FEMA risk score than East Prairie. Since 1979, 19 flood insurance claims have been paid out in East Prairie.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here fell from 920 in 2013 to 470.
Most working residents leave East Prairie for work: only 15% work in town. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in East Prairie. Jobs based in East Prairie fell to 470 in 2023, 450 fewer than in 2013.
| East Prairie | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
East Prairie has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in East Prairie is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 15.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 72% of Missouri’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kathie Simpkins Park | — | 22 |
| 2. A.E. Davis Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Prairie. Close and well known come first.
28 mi LakeReelfoot Lake
19 mi MuseumMagnolia Manor20 mi Ancient siteFort Defiance29 mi MuseumDiscovery Park of America
15 mi MuseumColumbus-Belmont State ParkReelfoot Lake: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Magnolia Manor: MuZemike, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Columbus-Belmont State Park: Knowledgeum at en.wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of East Prairie; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 East Prairie residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
East Prairie is a city in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,943 at the 2020 census, down from 3,176 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with East Prairie.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Prairie | #204 | C− | A | B | C− | D− |
| Whiting | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Whiting isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare East Prairie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
East Prairie grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #204 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health, B for safety and C− 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 Dan Smoot and Orlin Collier.
