Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lamar grades D overall, ranked 215th of 247 in Missouri, mostly because of health. Residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: a typical home costs about $189K, 3.7 years of the county’s $52K median household income. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Lamar, above both Missouri’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Harry Truman Birthplace Memorial is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lamar beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Harry Truman Birthplace Memorial| Widest gap | Lamar | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 29.2% | 15.8% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Lamar is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 907 in 1880, 4,266 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1957 and 3 maps from 1947 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lamar, 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 Lamar.
Lamar trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Against the 1,563 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lamar’s, it is less healthy than 73%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of adults report frequent physical distress in Lamar. Lamar beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 23% of adults smoke cigarettes in Lamar.
| Lamar | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Lamar | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 29.2% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.2% | 8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.5% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $189K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles. 60.7% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.6% across Missouri.
52% of Lamar households own their home. The typical Lamar home is worth about $189,000, up 2.6% in a year, 29% below the Missouri typical home. Lamar’s median rent is $832 a month.
| Lamar | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $832 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 29.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 57% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 130 to 43 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Lamar is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Lamar | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.3 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lamar has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 24° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Lamar has about as many jobs (2,008) as working residents, but only 553 people both live and work here.
About one in 3 of Lamar’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Lamar fell to 2,008 in 2023, 272 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Joplin (7%), Springfield (6%) and Nevada (4%).
| Lamar | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $37,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 15 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lamar.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Lamar City Park, at 40 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Lamar | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lamar City Park | 1.1 mi | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Lamar; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Lamar residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Lamar is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,266. It is known as the birthplace of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. The Lamar city government is consolidated with Barton County's City Township. Because the city governance and township governance have different roles, circa 2002 the U.S. Census Bureau counted them as separate governments for census purposes. In addition, the city of Lamar is surrounded by, but is not part of Barton County's Lamar Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lamar.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | #215 | D | B | C | B− | D− |
| City Township | #210 | D | B | — | B− | D− |
| Lamar Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
City Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lamar Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lamar with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lamar grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #215 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Neva Abelson and Blaine Durbin.