Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,780, settled in 1832. A regional job hub with 9,011 jobs.
Trash & recyclingWest Plains grades D overall, 220th among Missouri's 247 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 93% of the country. The median household income is $44K, and 28% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 7 places on the National Register. 28% of residents live below the poverty line in West Plains, above both Missouri’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). West Plains is home to Missouri State University-West Plains. West Plains's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 89% of U.S. towns.
Where West Plains beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 130 in 1870, 12,184 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2014 and 4 maps from 1938 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far West Plains is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Plains, 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 West Plains.
West Plains draws workers from Thayer and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Missouri rate.
13 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The trail density in West Plains is 1.0 miles per square mile. James Monroe Memorial Park, at 72 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| West Plains | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. James Monroe Memorial Park | 2.4 mi | 72 |
| 2. Heart of the Ozarks Fairgrounds | 1.4 mi | 27 |
| 3. People's Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the West Plains R-Vii school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is West Plains SR. High, with 1,108 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Plains Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 767 | B− |
| West Plains SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,108 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
9,011 jobs are based in West Plains, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
53% of West Plains’s working residents work right in town. West Plains’ average trip to work is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Springfield (6%), Willow Springs (2%) and Jefferson City (1%).
| West Plains | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 3,677 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Plains’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of adults report frequent physical distress in West Plains. West Plains beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 22% of adults smoke cigarettes in West Plains.
| West Plains | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | West Plains | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.7% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.9% | 8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.1% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 370 to 223 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 54 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Plains.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
West Plains has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 24° and about 9 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values rose 43% in five years, to about $225K, against 26% across Missouri. The median property tax bill is $930, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical West Plains home is worth about $225,000, up 6.4% in a year, 15% below the Missouri typical home. 52% of West Plains households own their home.
| West Plains | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $810 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 West Plains
About 7 of every 100 West Plains residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
4 notable people were born in West Plains.
City in Missouri, United States
West Plains is a city in and the county seat of Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Plains grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #220 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($50,993 across the West Plains, MO 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Jay Carty and Lynn Morris.