Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,702, settled in 1873. Public schools that outperform most of Missouri.
Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Overall it grades C−, 177th of 247 graded towns in Missouri. Its public schools beat 86% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Only 31 of Missouri’s 390 towns score lower on civic life. The median household income is $52K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 3 of the 247 Missouri towns we compare have a higher January low than Portageville.
Where Portageville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Portageville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 73 in 1880, 2,942 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1963 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portageville, 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 Portageville.
Portageville fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Missouri (mostly earthquakes).
Nearly a quarter of Portageville adults smoke cigarettes, against 17% in Missouri’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. Only 10 of the 247 Missouri towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Portageville. Also worth knowing: among adults here, 41% get no exercise outside work. Of 32 CDC measures, Portageville beats the Missouri average on 1 and trails it on 19.
| Portageville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 30% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Portageville | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.9% | 16.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.2% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools: the Portageville school district. The largest public high school is Portageville High, with 360 students. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portageville Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 311 | B+ |
| Portageville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 360 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
At 2.3 years of the county’s $52K median household income, the typical home (about $119K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. Values fell 5.1% in the past year while the Missouri typical home rose 3.4%.
For Portageville, the midpoint rent is $764 a month. Home values are down 5.1% over the year to September 2026. Three fifths of Portageville households are owner-occupiers.
| Portageville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $764 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 60% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Missouri towns; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Households in Portageville have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2025. FEMA puts 72% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 9% to heat waves. This Missouri town has had 6 paid flood insurance claims since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The peak summer temperature for Portageville comes to 90°F, where Missouri’s towns sit at 88°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Portageville has about as many jobs (1,008) as working residents, but only 290 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 16.4 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
Half of commuters travel less than 17 miles. For Portageville, the average trip to work is 16 minutes. About one worker in four stays in Portageville for work. The top destinations are New Madrid (5%), Sikeston (5%) and Hayti (3%).
| Portageville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 17.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 66% of Missouri’s graded towns.
Portageville’s property crime rate stands at 8.8 per 1,000 residents. In Portageville, the violent offense rate is 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Portageville | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 8.8 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
There are 0.4 miles of trail across 5 parks and preserves. Portageville’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 5, covering 28 acres.
| Portageville | 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. Meatte Park | — | 16 |
| 2. Adams Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Foster Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Portageville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Portageville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
Portageville is a city located within New Madrid and Pemiscot counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,942 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portageville grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #177 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.3 years of the area's median household income ($51,881 across the county). 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 George Woods and Luis Morgan Casey.