Benjamin House · National Register of Historic Places
Shelbina’s story
168 years in pictures
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1858Shelbina is settled
ShelbinaMO
A town of 1,550, settled in 1858.
Benjamin House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,550
2025 Census estimate · −3.8% since 2020
Typical home
$176K
+7.1% in a year
Household income
$48K
median
Median age
40.7
years
Jobs based here
690
Balanced
Is Shelbina a good place to live?
The best of Shelbina’s subject grades are an A for walkability, cost of living, and civic life; the weakest is a D− for incomes. On the outdoors, just 10 of Missouri’s 419 towns do worse. Benjamin House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Shelbina has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Shelbina stand out
Where Shelbina beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
WalkabilityA
More walkable than 91% of U.S. towns
10.6% of workers walk, bike or ride transit
EPA National Walkability Index; Census ACS.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Shelbina11.5
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical MO town3.8
Civic lifeA
3 times the nonprofits per person
than the typical Missouri town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
32 measures vs. Missouri
1 better18 too close to call13 worse
| Widest gap | Shelbina | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.3% | 15.8% |
Worth knowing · HealthD
Trails MO on 13 of 32 CDC measures, beats it on 1
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
How Shelbina grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Shelbina is from typical.
Jobs & income$48K median household income; 690 jobs based hereD−Open →HealthMacon County Samaritan Memorial Hospital 23.1 miles awayDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 9 of 20; 7.3% of households have no carAOpen →Cost of livingAOpen →SafetyC+Open →SchoolsBeat 56% of Missouri districts on tests and graduationBOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 42% of U.S. communities; heat waves tops the listBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsConserved land, trails and parksD−Open →History1 place on the National Register; 1 notable person born hereBOpen →Civic life4.1 library visits per resident; 11.5 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsAOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 40.7; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Shelbina: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelbina, and how to reach them.
PowerCity of ShelbinaEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterShelbina PWSNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Shelbina’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Missouri you can register online until 27 days before Election Day, in person until 27 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 27 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereShelbyShelby County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2015
ZIP code6346863468 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Shelbina.
HealthD
On CDC estimates, Shelbina is less healthy than 91% of U.S. towns
Shelbina: nearly four in five adults had a checkup this year, above the Missouri town median (78%) and near the median of U.S. towns (79%). 18% of Shelbina adults report frequent physical distress. In Shelbina, 44% of adults have high blood pressure, and 36% get no exercise outside work.
9%healthier than U.S. townsDHealth Grade
| Shelbina | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Missouri
1 better18 too close to call13 worse
| What stands out | Shelbina | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 77.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.3% | 15.8% |
Macon County Samaritan Memorial Hospital
23.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
HousingCost of living grade A
The typical home in Shelbina: about $176K
Shelbina’s midpoint rent stands at $756 a month, against $971 a month in Missouri’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Values rose 7.1% in the 12 months to September 2026. The share of households in Shelbina who are owner-occupiers: 74%.
$176KZillow home value
| Shelbina | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $756 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 64% | 73% |
Typical home value
Shelbina$176K
Missouri$265K
+7.1%
value change, 1 year
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers: that is Shelbina’s year
Only 10 of the 248 Missouri towns we compare have a lower July high than Shelbina. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 18° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
16″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter21–39°
Spring42–64°
Summer64–85°
Fall44–66°
Oct 17
typical first frost
Apr 21
typical last frost
+0.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D−
With 1.1 jobs for every working resident, Shelbina draws in 533 commuters
In Shelbina, the mean commuting time is 17 minutes. About one in four of the town’s working residents works in town. 21% of residents live below the poverty line here. The top destinations are Monroe City (6%), Macon (6%) and Hannibal (4%).
26%work in town
| Shelbina | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 13% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Shelbina26%
Monroe City6%
Macon6%
Hannibal4%
Clarence2%
17 mi
median commute distance
690
jobs based in Shelbina
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
A
Walkability grade: more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
The biggest natural risk in Shelbina is heat waves, at a moderate overall level
28% of Shelbina’s expected losses from natural hazards come from heat waves, followed by inland flooding at 26%. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Shelbina after 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2011.
42risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Heat wavesInland floodingLightning
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
SafetyC+
Crime per resident in Shelbina is higher than in 56% of U.S. towns
The property offense rate in Shelbina is 7.7 per 1,000 residents. The violent offense rate here is 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
44%of U.S. towns report more crimeC+Safety Grade
| Shelbina | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.7 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Shelbina0.6
Missouri4.3
U.S.3.3
Property crime per 1,000 residents
Shelbina7.7
Missouri16.9
U.S.15.5
44th
percentile among U.S. towns we grade
1
violent crimes reported in 2025
12
property crimes reported in 2025
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Shelbina
19pages on Shelbina
The big questions
SchoolsBBeat 56% of MO districtsSafetyC+0.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents (2025)HealthDBetter than MO on 1 of 32 CDC measuresCost of livingA$176K typical home · up 7.1% in a yearWork & commuteD−$48K median household income · 690 jobs hereNatural hazardsBFEMA risk higher than 42% of U.S. communities · heat waves
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Shelbina; the nearest are
Central Christian College of the BibleUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Moberly29.1 mi$12,200 tuitionMoberly Area Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Moberly29.1 mi$4,110 in-state tuitionTruman State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Kirksville44.7 mi$9,838 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Shelbina residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
About Shelbina
City in Shelby County, Missouri, United States
Shelbina ( shel-BY-nə) is a city in southern Shelby County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,613 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 778 ft
- ZIP code
- 63468
- Area code
- 573
Questions about Shelbina
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Shelbina, MO expensive?
Not for the area. That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($51,594 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 A.