Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A typical home costs 3 years of the Marshall area’s $58K median household income.
The best of Sweet Springs’ subject grades are an A+ for cost of living, an A for schools, and an A− for walkability; the weakest is a D for incomes. Sweet Springs’ violent crime rate is 6.8 per 1,000 residents, against 2.2 in Missouri’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Only 20 of Missouri’s 419 towns score higher on cost of living. Only 14 of Missouri’s 419 towns score higher on history. Sweet Springs has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Sweet Springs beats most towns.
First Christian Church| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Springs Elem. | PK–6 | 191 |
| Sweet Springs High | 7–12 | 174 |
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Sweet Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,182 in 1880, 1,316 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1939 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sweet Springs, 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 Sweet Springs.
Its public schools are run by the Sweet Springs R-Vii school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Springs Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 191 | B+ |
| Sweet Springs HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 174 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Sweet Springs’ median rent is $632 a month, where Missouri’s towns sit at $971 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Typical home values rose 13% in the year to September 2026.
| Sweet Springs | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $632 a month | $971 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Sweet Springs tracks Missouri closely on all 32 CDC measures. 40% of Sweet Springs adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Sweet Springs | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Sweet Springs has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 20° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Sweet Springs for work: only 14% work in town. The median household income in Sweet Springs is $47,000. Since 2013, Sweet Springs has added 84 jobs, to 594 in 2023.
| Sweet Springs | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 13% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sweet Springs.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Sweet Springs; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Sweet Springs residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
1,484 counted in 2010 and 1,316 in 2020; an estimated 1,323 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 notable people were born in Sweet Springs.
City in Saline County, Missouri, United States
Sweet Springs is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States, along the Blackwater River. As of the 2020 census, Sweet Springs had a population of 1,316.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.
3 notable people were born here, including Dorsey W. Shackleford and Adna R. Johnson.
