StraffordMO
A town of 2,789, settled in 1870.
Is Strafford a good place to live?
Strafford gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $308K, 4.7 years of the Springfield metro’s $65K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 125th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 19 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, its public schools beat 78% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation. Strafford’s violent crime rate is 6.6 per 1,000 residents, above both the Missouri town median (2.2) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). On hazard risk, just 22 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 77% of U.S. towns.
What makes Strafford stand out
Where Strafford beats most towns.
Jobs vs. working residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Strafford Elem. | 1–4 | 380 |
| Cogdill Early Childhood Center | PK–K | 180 |
| Strafford Middle | 5–8 | 411 |
Typical home value
Every workday, about 1,768 people come to Strafford for work
Where Strafford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Strafford grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Strafford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Strafford: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Strafford, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Strafford.
Strafford pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, draws workers from Springfield and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
More than half of Strafford’s working residents commute to Springfield
1,867 jobs are based in Strafford, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 1,080 in 2013 to 1,867.
Most working residents leave Strafford for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Strafford has added 787 jobs, to 1,867 in 2023. Strafford’s average trip to work is 26 minutes.
| Strafford | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 13% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For schools, Strafford earns an A−
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $308K.
Its public schools are run by Strafford R-VI. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Strafford High, with 437 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strafford MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 411 | B+ |
| Strafford HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 437 | A− |
| Strafford Elem.Top results in townGrades 1–4 | Grades 1–4 | 380 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
For safety, Strafford earns a C−
Strafford reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. The property crime rate in Strafford is 15.7 per 1,000 residents.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Strafford faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Strafford since 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Strafford
Strafford has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For cost of living, Strafford earns an A−
The typical Strafford home is worth about $308,000, up 4% in a year, 16% above the Missouri typical home.
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Health in Strafford trails 62% of U.S. towns
Against the 9,888 U.S. towns with household incomes like Strafford’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Missouri it is healthier than 59% of the 247 graded towns: much of Missouri scores lower on these measures.
Strafford tracks Missouri closely on all 32 CDC measures. 33% of adults have high blood pressure in Strafford.
| Strafford | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 25% | 23% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Strafford | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Howard Smith Community Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium and 3 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Strafford. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Zoo & aquariumWonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium16 mi MuseumRiverbluff Cave
19 mi National BattlefieldWilson's Creek National Battlefield371K visitors a year11 mi Zoo & aquariumDickerson Park ZooPhoto credits
Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium: Robert Lawton, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wilson's Creek National Battlefield: National Park Service, Public domain
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Everything we know about Strafford
Colleges nearby
8 within 15 miles of the center of Strafford
About 2 of every 100 Strafford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
About Strafford
City in Missouri, United States
Strafford is a city in eastern Greene County, with a small portion extending into western Webster County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,561 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,490 ft
- ZIP code
- 65757
- Area code
- 417
Questions about Strafford
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Strafford, MO a good place to live?
Strafford grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #125 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Strafford, MO expensive?
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−.