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Hollister, Missouri

Hollister is a small town of about 4,700 people in Taney County, Missouri. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 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 152 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,690
up 2.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$163,600
Taney County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$53,507
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Missouri
83.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Branson, MO
To Tulsa
152 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 3.1 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 Hollister 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 town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCox Medical Center Branson in Branson, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 152 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 Hollister 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
$163,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Taney County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$849 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,507U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$889 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Hollister 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
4,6902020: 4,576
Median age
36.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%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
5%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
Retail (20%); schools, health care and social services (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cox Medical Center Branson, Branson, MO, about 3 miles away. 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

4 public schools in Hollister, run by Hollister R-V.

Colleges in or next to town: College of the Ozarks (1,000 to 4,999 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
70%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
27°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
49 a year
Nights at or below freezing
86 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.7 inches a year
Snow
7 inches a year
Elevation
945 feet

Weather stations: Branson Ap (5 miles away) and Ozark Beach (8 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

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 Center Branson, Springfield, Tulsa.

Taney 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Wilson's Creek National Battlefield34 miles
  • Buffalo National River35 miles
  • Pea Ridge National Military Park44 miles

Campus life. Check College of the Ozarks's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Hollister's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hollister?

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

  • Kirbyville, MO205 people, 4 miles
  • Indian Point, MO580 people, 7 miles
  • Bull Creek, MO405 people, 8 miles
  • Rockaway Beach, MO816 people, 8 miles
  • Blue Eye, MO310 people, 10 miles
  • Omaha, AR132 people, 10 miles
  • Branson West, MO485 people, 11 miles
  • Kissee Mills, MO (unincorporated)1,081 people, 11 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.