Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Houston’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 Houston, against 14% in Missouri’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 4 of Missouri’s 419 towns score lower on incomes. Houston's crime rate is higher than 97% of U.S. towns, with 10 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On history, just 40 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Houston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Houston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Houston’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 Houston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 191 in 1880, 2,079 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Houston, 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 Houston.
At 56.8 per 1,000 residents, Houston’s property crime rate is above both Missouri’s towns (12.5) and U.S. towns (9.9). Houston’s violent crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents. Houston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
| Houston | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 56.8 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Houston beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 38% of adults get no exercise outside work in Houston.
| Houston | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Houston | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.7% | 8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.8% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5.2% | 3.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 3 of Houston’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Houston is 13 minutes. Since 2013, Houston has lost 143 jobs, to 1,918 in 2023.
| Houston | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Houston home is worth about $187,000, up 7.2% in a year, 30% below the Missouri typical home. 54% of Houston households own their home.
| Houston | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $698 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Houston has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Houston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Emmet Kelly Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Houston; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Houston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Houston is a city in and the county seat of Texas County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,079 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 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($50,036 across the county).
2 notable people were born here, including Hovey C. McDonald and Robert Ross.