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Elsberry, Missouri

Elsberry is a small town of about 2,100 people in Lincoln County, Missouri. It has grown about 9% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 47 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,108
up 8.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$139,000
Lincoln County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$49,760
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
17 miles
Troy, MO
To St. Louis
47 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.9% below the U.S. average in the St. Louis metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMercy Hospital Lincoln in Troy, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 47 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Elsberry meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$139,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Lincoln County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$865 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$49,760U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
53%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$911 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.1U.S. average = 100 (the St. Louis metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Elsberry alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
2,1082020: 1,938
Median age
30.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (28%); construction (15%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
25%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Hospital Lincoln, Troy, MO, about 17 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Jersey Community Hospital, Jerseyville, IL, about 24 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Elsberry, run by Elsberry R-II.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Missouri's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
20°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
42 a year
Nights at or below freezing
107 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.2 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
476 feet

Weather station: Elsberry 1 S (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Mercy Hospital Lincoln, O'Fallon, St. Louis.

Lincoln County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Camp Sherwood Forest Historic District and the Cuivre River State Park Administrative Area Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Philadelphia National Historic Site37 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site48 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park49 miles

Read about Elsberry's history on Wikipedia.

Know Elsberry?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Hardin, IL779 people, 9 miles
  • Batchtown, IL166 people, 12 miles
  • Kampsville, IL294 people, 13 miles
  • Eolia, MO482 people, 13 miles
  • Fountain N' Lakes, MO181 people, 14 miles
  • Silex, MO266 people, 15 miles
  • Eldred, IL141 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.