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Towns / Missouri

Goodman, Missouri

Goodman is a small town of about 1,300 people in McDonald County, Missouri. It's growing fast: its population is up 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 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, Tulsa, is about 93 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
1,320
up 10% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$117,200
McDonald County prices up 38% since 2022
Household income
$54,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Missouri
83.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Neosho, MO
To Tulsa
93 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 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is McDonald County High, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFreeman Neosho Hospital in Neosho, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 93 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 Goodman 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

Boom town. The population is up 10% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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
$117,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 38%McDonald County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$863 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$54,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
81%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$734 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%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 38% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Goodman 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
1,3202020: 1,199
Median age
32.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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
Manufacturing (26%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
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: Freeman Neosho Hospital, Neosho, MO, about 9 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Freeman Health System - Freeman West, Joplin, MO, about 23 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

1 public school in Goodman, run by Neosho School District. The nearest public high school is McDonald County High, about 7 miles away.

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 any internet subscription
80%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
25°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
30 a year
Nights at or below freezing
100 a year
Rain and melted snow
44.3 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
1,254 feet

Weather station: Anderson (6 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: Freeman Neosho Hospital, Joplin, Tulsa.

McDonald County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, 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 Battlefield16 miles
  • George Washington Carver National Monument17 miles
  • Pea Ridge National Military Park27 miles

Read about Goodman's history on Wikipedia.

Know Goodman?

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

  • Lanagan, MO379 people, 9 miles
  • Pineville, MO836 people, 11 miles
  • Stella, MO170 people, 12 miles
  • Jane, MO405 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.