Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,835, settled in 1820.
Mount Vernon gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $232K, 3.8 years of the county’s $61K median household income. It grades B− overall, 108th of 247 graded towns in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. Among 170 Missouri towns, just 1 have a lower property crime rate than Mount Vernon. Lawrence County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Among 170 Missouri towns, just 9 have a lower violent crime rate than Mount Vernon.
Where Mount Vernon beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Mount Vernon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 441 in 1860, 4,526 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 2 maps from 1921 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
36% of adults get no exercise outside work in Mount Vernon, where Missouri’s towns sit at 30% and U.S. towns at 25%. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Mount Vernon | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Mount Vernon | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.3% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.8% | 3.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Mt. Vernon R-V school district. The largest public high school is Mount Vernon High, with 474 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 345 | B− |
| Mount Vernon HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 474 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Mount Vernon has chilly winters and warm summers. At 89°F, Mount Vernon’s July high is near the Missouri town median (88°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 3,132 in 2013 to 2,478.
About one in 4 of Mount Vernon’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Mount Vernon has lost 654 jobs, to 2,478 in 2023. Mount Vernon’s median household income is $53,000.
| Mount Vernon | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 14.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 76% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 87 to 8 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $232K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 28 miles. Home values rose 41% in five years, to about $232K, against 26% across Missouri.
The median rent in Mount Vernon is $673 a month. The typical Mount Vernon home is worth about $232,000, up 1.7% in a year, 13% below the Missouri typical home. 57% of Mount Vernon households own their home.
| Mount Vernon | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $673 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Vernon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.6 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Spirit of '76 Park, at 34 acres.
| Mount Vernon | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Spirit of '76 Park | 0.4 mi | 34 |
| 2. Wynne Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
| 3. King's Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Mount Vernon; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Mount Vernon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
3 notable people were born in Mount Vernon.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,526. Mount Vernon is located halfway between Springfield and Joplin along I-44.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Vernon grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #108 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D for health, B for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
3 notable people were born here, including Julia Butterfly Hill and Charles D. Barger.
