Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hamilton’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a C for health. Hamilton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Hamilton beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Hamilton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 975 in 1870, 1,690 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and a map from 1984 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hamilton, 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 Hamilton.
In Hamilton, 31% of adults get no exercise outside work. Two figures for adults here: 15% report frequent physical distress, 38% have high blood pressure.
| Hamilton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Hamilton | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The range runs from 18° on a January night to 87° on a July afternoon, with about 8 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Commuting out is the norm in Hamilton: 18% of working residents work locally. In Hamilton, 6% of residents live below the poverty line, below both the Missouri town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Employers in Hamilton added 484 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 877. The top destinations are Kansas City (10%), Cameron (10%) and St. Joseph (8%).
| Hamilton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hamilton’s FEMA risk score is 40 of 100, against 54 of 100 in Missouri’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. Expected losses in Hamilton break down as 40% from inland flooding and 21% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes in Hamilton are typically worth about $237,000, up 2.2% in a year, 11% below the Missouri typical home. The median rent here is $685 a month. The share of households in Hamilton who are owner-occupiers: 58%.
| Hamilton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 16% | 43% | 48% |
| Median rent | $685 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Just over a quarter of residents are under 18 in Hamilton. The age mix tracks Missouri closely: no broad group is more than 4 points off. The town’s midpoint age stands at 36.1 years. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 28%, against 32% across Missouri.
| Hamilton | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 36.1 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 22% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2 points). Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Hamilton | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.6% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.9% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.4% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.6% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,700, single groups can be off by several points
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J.C. Penney Boyhood Home | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Hamilton; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Hamilton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
3 notable people were born in Hamilton.
City in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States
Hamilton is a city in northern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2020 census. It is known as the hometown of James Cash Penney, who built a national apparel-related business, J. C. Penney. It is also the hometown of Jenny Doan, who developed the Missouri Star Quilt Company. The town is known for an annual quilt festival.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3 notable people were born here, including Zack Wheat and James Cash Penney.
