Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lexington gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $208K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 162nd of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $57K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line, and its public schools trail 83% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, 5% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 25 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Linwood Lawn and Hicklin Hearthstone. On hazard risk, just 27 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Lexington's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Where Lexington beats most towns.
Lafayette County Courthouse
Census counts: 2,698 in 1850, 4,652 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 3 maps from 1949 on.
23 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Lexington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lexington, 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 Lexington.
Lexington trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by the Lexington R-V school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lexington High, with 310 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie Bell Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 339 | C |
| Lexington HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 310 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
2.8 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is City Park, at 84 acres.
| Lexington | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crystal Lake Park | 0.7 mi | 13 |
| 2. City Park | 0.3 mi | 84 |
| 3. Lexington Riverfront Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,990 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lexington’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. Within Missouri it is healthier than 51% of the 247 graded towns: much of Missouri scores lower on these measures.
Lexington beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 41% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Lexington, against 38% in Missouri’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 31% of adults feel lonely in Lexington.
| Lexington | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lexington | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 55.1% | 60.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $208K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. At 2.5 years of the Kansas City metro’s $83K median household income, the typical home (about $208K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 8.3% in the year to September 2026. Lexington’s median rent is $801 a month, where Missouri’s towns sit at $972 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. 60% of Lexington households own their home.
| Lexington | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $801 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Lexington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 20° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Lexington for work: only 13% work in town. The average trip to work in Lexington is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Lexington fell to 1,430 in 2023, 296 fewer than in 2013.
| Lexington | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lexington’s violent crime rate is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Lexington | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 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
None within 15 miles of Lexington; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Lexington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
4.7% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
23 places in Lexington on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Lexington.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lexington had a population of 4,652. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately 40 miles (64 km) east of Kansas City. It is the home of the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site, and of the former Wentworth Military Academy and College, which operated from 1880 to 2017.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lexington grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #162 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C for health, C+ for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
17 notable people were born here, including Randall Garrett and Carl W. Stalling.
