Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 20,588, settled in 1844. 2.9 times the library visits per person than the typical Missouri town.
Trash & recyclingRolla gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $241K, 4.1 years of the Rolla area’s $58K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 148th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $46K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line, and its police reported 76 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 83% of U.S. towns. 39% of working residents work locally in Rolla, against 13% in Missouri’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 5 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Rolla is home to Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Where Rolla beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,354 in 1870, 19,943 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 7 maps from 1912 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Rolla is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rolla, 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 Rolla.
Rolla carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Missouri (mostly inland flooding), is shaped by its college students and draws workers from St. James and beyond.
11,751 jobs are based in Rolla, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.9 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
Among workers in Rolla, 6.3% work from home. Only 7 of the 247 Missouri towns we compare have a lower average commute than Rolla. The top destinations are Columbia (4%), St. James (4%) and Jefferson City (3%). For half of commuters, work is under 9 miles away.
| Rolla | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.3% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Three of the 10 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the Rolla 31 school district. Also worth knowing: the 5 public schools in Rolla teach 2,763 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolla MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 857 | B |
| Rolla SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,398 | B |
| Mark Twain Elem.Top results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 440 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
26% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.7% statewide, which pulls the median age down. Only 39.4% of households own their home, against 68.1% across Missouri.
Adults 18 to 34 are just over two in five residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 26% of residents (37% statewide). The midpoint age in Rolla is 28.2 years. The town has grown 3.3% since 2020, to 20,588 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. In Rolla, 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Rolla | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 28.2 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 22% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 17% | 18% |
45% women, 55% men
About 123 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 69% are men (MO 51%). Median age: women 32.3, men 25.6.
| Rolla | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.2% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 26.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.5% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.9% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.7% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.4% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.7% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.4% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 22% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.9% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.6% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 709 to 535 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Rolla’s level of property crime comes in at 22 per 1,000 residents. In Rolla, the level of violent crime is 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Rolla | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22 per 1,000 residents | 12.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 98% of Missouri towns, with expected losses of about $333 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
The national flood insurance program has paid 61 claims in Rolla since 1979. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 30% come from inland flooding and 19% from heat waves. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Rolla after 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Count the trails in 18 parks and preserves and they come to 5.1 miles. The biggest place to walk is Lions Club Park, 173 acres with 4.1 miles of trail.
| Rolla | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Club Park | 4.1 mi | 173 |
| 2. Ber Juan Park | 0.4 mi | 84 |
| 3. Ponzer Park | — | 58 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Summer afternoons peak near 88° in July, and January nights bottom out around 23°; snowfall runs to about 17 inches a winter. Rolla brings chilly winters and warm summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 4,413 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rolla’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Missouri it is healthier than 56% of the 247 graded towns: much of Missouri scores lower on these measures.
For adults in Rolla, the share who have obesity is 35%. This Missouri town does better than the Missouri average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 11.
| Rolla | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Rolla | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.3% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 23.3% | 28.8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 13.1% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Rolla’s midpoint rent stands at $789 a month. The typical home value here is about $241,000, up 4.5% in a year, 9% below the Missouri typical home. Homes sold in Rolla spent a median 40 days on the market.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rolla
College town 26 of every 100 Rolla residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
5 places in Rolla on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Rolla.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Rolla ( ROL-ə) is a city in and the county seat of Phelps County, Missouri, United States. Its population in the 2020 United States Census was 19,943. It is approximately midway between St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. Its micropolitan statistical area consists of Phelps County, Missouri. Nearby is an inactive township (Rolla Township). It is the home of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, well known for its many engineering departments and computer science department. The headquarters of the Mark Twain National Forest is in Rolla. The city is also within the Ozark Highlands American Viticultural Area, with vineyards first established by Italian immigrants to the area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rolla grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #148 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Rolla reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade: 76 violent and 459 property crimes in 2025.
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 B+.
16 notable people were born here, including Claire McCaskill and Shannon Miller.
