Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hillsboro gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $322K, 4 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades B overall, 104th among Missouri's 247 graded towns. Hillsboro’s average trip to work is 34 minutes, against 22 minutes in Missouri’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Hillsboro is home to Jefferson College.
Where Hillsboro beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Jefferson College | 3,334 |
Thomas C. Fletcher House2,821 counted in 2010 and 3,473 in 2020; an estimated 3,493 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 23.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Hillsboro is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 264 in 1890, 3,473 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 4 maps from 1930 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hillsboro, 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 Hillsboro.
Hillsboro trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it has commutes longer than most of Missouri.
1.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Hillsboro City Park, at 50 acres.
| Hillsboro | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hillsboro City Park | 0.9 mi | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Hillsboro R-III. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hillsboro High, with 1,050 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro Middle Elem.Largest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 682 | C |
| Hillsboro HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,050 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $322K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 28 miles.
Typical home values rose 4.8% in the year to September 2026.
| Hillsboro | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 72% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $973 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hillsboro has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Hillsboro is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Hillsboro since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 1,568 working residents takes 33.8 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
Most working residents leave Hillsboro for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Hillsboro has added 335 jobs, to 2,194 in 2023. The top destinations are St.
| Hillsboro | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5.2% | 13% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $78,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hillsboro’s violent crime rate is 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Hillsboro | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.2 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Hillsboro beats the Missouri average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 28% of Hillsboro adults have high blood pressure. Among 247 Missouri towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Hillsboro.
| Hillsboro | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Hillsboro | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 7.9% | 12.1% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.4% | 3.6% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 69.5% | 77.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hillsboro
About 8 of every 100 Hillsboro residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,473 at the 2020 census, up from 2,821 in 2010.
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. Hillsboro grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #104 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B for schools.
Not for the area. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.