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Farmington, Missouri

Farmington is a small town of about 19,200 people in St. Francois County, Missouri. It's the county seat. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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 60 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
19,226
up 8.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$196,500
St. Francois County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$53,729
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Missouri
83.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Parkland Health Center
To St. Louis
60 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Missouri outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood56 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 24.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byParkland Health Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 60 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 Farmington 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
$196,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%St. Francois County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$855 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,729U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,328 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
83.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Missouri outside metro areas)

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 parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Farmington 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
19,2262020: 17,730
Median age
38.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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 (26%); retail (11%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Parkland Health Center, Farmington, MO, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

7 public schools in Farmington, run by Farmington R-VII.

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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
23°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
32 a year
Nights at or below freezing
104 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.2 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
943 feet

Weather station: Farmington (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: St. Louis.

St. Francois County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Courthouse Square Historic District, the East Columbia Historic District, East Columbia Historic District (Boundary Increase) and Presbyterian Orphanage of Missouri.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park25 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site53 miles
  • Ozark National Scenic Riverways55 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park59 miles

Read about Farmington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Farmington?

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

  • Leadington, MO785 people, 5 miles
  • Doe Run, MO (unincorporated)775 people, 5 miles
  • Wortham, MO (unincorporated)141 people, 10 miles
  • Iron Mountain Lake, MO647 people, 12 miles
  • Weingarten, MO (unincorporated)114 people, 14 miles
  • Mine La Motte, MO (unincorporated)370 people, 14 miles
  • Irondale, MO371 people, 14 miles
  • Grayhawk, MO (unincorporated)538 people, 14 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.