Living in Leadwood, Missouri: homes, schools and costs

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 1.4 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byParkland Health Center - Bonne Terre in Bonne Terre, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 57 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 Leadwood 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: $63,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%St. Francois County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $896 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $44,783U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $516 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 5%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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Leadwood 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: 1,1582020: 1,175
Median age: 35.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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 (20%); schools, health care and social services (18%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 36%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Parkland Health Center - Bonne Terre, Bonne Terre, MO, about 5 miles away. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Parkland Health Center, Farmington, MO, about 10 miles away. 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

3 public schools in Leadwood, run by West St. Francois Co. R-IV.

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.

Weather

January average low: 23°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 32 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 104 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.2 inches a year
Snow: 9 inches a year
Elevation: 757 feet

Weather station: Farmington (11 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

Parkland Health Center - Bonne TerreEmergency room5

St. Louis, MOMetro of 2.8 million57

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: Parkland Health Center - Bonne Terre, St. Louis.

St. Francois 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park31 miles
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site49 miles
Ozark National Scenic Riverways54 miles
Gateway Arch National Park57 miles

Read about Leadwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Leadwood?

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

Terre du Lac, MO2,500 people, 3 miles
Desloge, MO4,800 people, 4 miles
Bonne Terre, MO6,600 people, 5 miles
Park Hills, MO8,800 people, 6 miles
Bismarck, MO1,200 people, 7 miles
Farmington, MO19,200 people, 10 miles

Smaller places

Wortham, MO (unincorporated)141 people, 2 miles
Irondale, MO371 people, 5 miles
Leadington, MO785 people, 6 miles
Mineral Point, MO235 people, 9 miles
Doe Run, MO (unincorporated)775 people, 9 miles
Lake Timberline, MO (unincorporated)810 people, 10 miles
Iron Mountain Lake, MO647 people, 12 miles
Caledonia, MO134 people, 12 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.