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Towns / Missouri

Fremont Hills, Missouri

Fremont Hills is a suburb of about 1,100 people in Christian County, Missouri, in the Springfield area. It has grown about 5% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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, Kansas City, is about 159 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Springfield

Population
1,098
up 4.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$461,800
Christian County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$171,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Springfield area
88.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Springfield, MO
To Kansas City
159 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.4% below the U.S. average in the Springfield metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Fremont Hills itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Ozark High, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCox Medical Centers in Springfield, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 159 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 Fremont Hills 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Fremont Hills runs into the built-up area around Springfield (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$461,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Christian County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$963 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$171,250U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$4,281 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
38%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.6U.S. average = 100 (the Springfield 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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Springfield metro area, not Fremont Hills 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
1,0982020: 1,049
Median age
41.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%share of all residents

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 (31%); finance, insurance and real estate (22%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
25%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cox Medical Centers, Springfield, MO, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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 Fremont Hills, run by Nixa Public Schools and Ozark R-VI. The nearest public high school is Ozark High, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Evangel University-James River Assembly of God Church (under 1,000 students).

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
91%U.S.: 76%

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
21°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
46 a year
Nights at or below freezing
108 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.3 inches a year
Snow
7 inches a year
Elevation
1,285 feet

Weather station: Ozark (3 miles 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: Cox Medical Centers, Springfield, Kansas City.

Christian County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Wilson's Creek National Battlefield8 miles
  • Pea Ridge National Military Park58 miles

Read about Fremont Hills's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fremont Hills?

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

  • Highlandville, MO974 people, 9 miles
  • Spokane, MO (unincorporated)319 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.