Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Warrensburg gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $271K, 4 years of the Warrensburg area’s $67K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 109th of 247 in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, including 50 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. 34% of working residents work locally in Warrensburg, above both the Missouri town median (13%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On hazard risk, just 8 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. Warrensburg has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Johnson County Courthouse and Johnson County Courthouse.
Where Warrensburg beats most towns.
Johnson County Courthouse
Census counts: 241 in 1850, 19,337 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1841 and 2 maps from 1917 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Warrensburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Warrensburg, 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 Warrensburg.
Warrensburg trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is shaped by its college students and carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Missouri (mostly inland flooding).
27.2% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.7% statewide, which pulls the median age down. Only 46.2% of households own their home, against 68.1% across Missouri.
Adults 18 to 34 are 47% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 24% of residents (37% statewide). Warrensburg has grown 5% since 2020, to 20,283 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Just over a tenth of Warrensburg residents are 65 or older.
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 24.8 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 22% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 24.7, men 24.8.
| Warrensburg | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 32.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.3% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 6.7% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.1% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.4% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.6% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.3% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.5% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Public schools: Warrensburg R-VI. The largest public high school is Warrensburg High, with 1,027 students. Two of its 8 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrensburg MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 779 | B− |
| Warrensburg HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,027 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Pertle Springs, at 135 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Count the trails in 10 parks and preserves and they come to 6.5 miles. The concentration of trails in Warrensburg is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lion's Lake/Culp Park | 1.6 mi | 87 |
| 2. Pertle Springs | 1.3 mi | 135 |
| 3. Grover Park | 1.2 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 496 to 414 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
For Warrensburg, the violent offense rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.1 per 1,000 residents | 12.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of Missouri towns, with expected losses of about $322 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Warrensburg’s risk rating from FEMA is 24 of 100. Expected losses in Warrensburg break down as 43% from inland flooding and 23% from cold waves. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1983: 3.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The range runs from 21° on a January night to 89° on a July afternoon, with about 12 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in three of Warrensburg’s working residents works in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 1,349, to 8,912. The share of workers in Warrensburg who work from home: 3.6%. The top destinations are Kansas City (9%), Sedalia (4%) and Lee's Summit (3%).
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 3.6% | 9% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,056 U.S. towns with household incomes like Warrensburg’s, it is healthier than 86%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Just over a third of adults have obesity in Warrensburg. Among 247 Missouri towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Warrensburg. Two figures for adults in the town: 22% report frequent mental distress, 8.2% have diabetes. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Warrensburg is ahead of Missouri on 8 and behind on 6.
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 12% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Warrensburg | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.7% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.2% | 12.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11.3% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $271K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles.
Values rose 3.3% in the 12 months to September 2026. In Warrensburg, 46% of households are owner-occupiers. The rent at the middle of the market for Warrensburg comes to $921 a month.
| Warrensburg | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $921 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Warrensburg
College town 27 of every 100 Warrensburg residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
12 places in Warrensburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Warrensburg.
City in Missouri, U.S.
Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. Its population was 20,313 at the 2020 census. The Warrensburg micropolitan statistical area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town; it is home to the University of Central Missouri.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Warrensburg grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #109 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
17 notable people were born here, including Kimberly Wyatt and Mary Fallin.
