Living in Granby, Missouri: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.3% below the U.S. average in the Joplin metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.1 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 Granby 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byFreeman Neosho Hospital in Neosho, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 106 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 Granby 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: $104,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Newton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $846 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $48,864U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $596 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940: 18%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.7U.S. average = 100 (the Joplin 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Joplin metro area, not Granby 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: 2,1132020: 2,050
Median age: 35.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 13%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 (18%); retail (18%); manufacturing (17%)
Average commute: 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Freeman Neosho Hospital, Neosho, MO, about 7 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: Mercy Hospital Joplin, Joplin, MO, about 17 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 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

2 public schools in Granby, run by East Newton Co. R-VI.

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: 91%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: 22°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 46 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 104 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50 inches a year
Snow: 8 inches a year
Elevation: 1,163 feet

Weather stations: Diamond 2W (7 miles away) and Neosho (7 miles away, rain and snow). 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

Freeman Neosho HospitalEmergency room7

Joplin, MOCity of 54,00017

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million106

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.

Newton County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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 Battlefield5 miles
George Washington Carver National Monument6 miles
Pea Ridge National Military Park33 miles

Read about Granby's history on Wikipedia.

Know Granby?

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

Neosho, MO14,100 people, 8 miles
Sarcoxie, MO1,400 people, 13 miles
Duenweg, MO2,100 people, 14 miles
Pierce City, MO1,300 people, 14 miles
Goodman, MO1,300 people, 15 miles
Duquesne, MO2,300 people, 15 miles

Smaller places

Newtonia, MO215 people, 5 miles
Stark City, MO131 people, 6 miles
Diamond, MO906 people, 6 miles
Fidelity, MO235 people, 11 miles
Wentworth, MO104 people, 12 miles
Stella, MO170 people, 12 miles
Fairview, MO432 people, 12 miles
Saginaw, MO333 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.