Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
No town among the 243 in Missouri we compare has a lower median rent than Lancaster. William P. Hall House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lancaster has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Lancaster beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 427 in 1870, a peak of 980 in 1900, 675 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1979 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster.
The share of residents in Lancaster who live below the poverty line: 23%. Only 8% of working residents stay in Lancaster for work; the rest commute out. The town had 129 jobs in 2023, down 65 from 2013. Also worth knowing: its mean commuting time is 22 minutes.
| Lancaster | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 8% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 16° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
38% of adults have high blood pressure in Lancaster. The share of adults in Lancaster who smoke cigarettes is 18%, close to Missouri’s towns (17%) and above U.S. towns (14%).
| Lancaster | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lancaster | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 54.9% | 60.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 57% of U.S. communities. 36% of Lancaster’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 30%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Lancaster after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2015.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Lancaster, the trail network density is 0.1 miles per square mile, below both the Missouri town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). 0.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jaycee Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
| 2. Courthouse Yard | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Lancaster; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Lancaster residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
Where Lancaster’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Lancaster.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Lancaster is a city in and the county seat of Schuyler County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 675. Lancaster is part of the Kirksville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lancaster has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
4 notable people were born here, including Rupert Hughes and Jules Willcox.
