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Lake Ozark, Missouri

Lake Ozark is a tourist town of about 2,200 people in Miller County, Missouri. 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, Kansas City, is about 122 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
2,247
up 8.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$278,100
Miller County prices up 31% since 2022
Household income
$74,176
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Missouri
83.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Osage Beach, MO
To Kansas City
122 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 neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 other. No public high school in town: the nearest is Osage High, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byLake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 122 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 Lake Ozark 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

Tourist town. About 47% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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
$278,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 31%Miller County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,304 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$74,176U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,782 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
47%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 31% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Lake Ozark 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
2,2472020: 2,079
Median age
42.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (32%); retail (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lake Regional Health System, Osage Beach, 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

2 public schools in Lake Ozark, run by School of the Osage. The nearest public high school is Osage High, about 4 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
83%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
25°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
35 a year
Nights at or below freezing
88 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.6 inches a year
Snow
4 inches a year
Elevation
700 feet

Weather station: Lakeside (less than a 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: Lake Regional Health System, Columbia, Kansas City.

Miller County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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.

Read about Lake Ozark's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lake Ozark?

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

  • Sunrise Beach, MO533 people, 9 miles
  • Aurora Springs, MO (unincorporated)230 people, 9 miles
  • Tuscumbia, MO192 people, 10 miles
  • Linn Creek, MO223 people, 12 miles
  • Barnett, MO165 people, 12 miles
  • Gravois Mills, MO139 people, 13 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.