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Towns / Missouri

Lexington, Missouri

Lexington is a small town of about 4,600 people in Lafayette County, Missouri. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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 37 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
4,568
down 2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$161,300
Lafayette County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$56,905
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Kansas City area
92.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Lafayette Regional Health Center
To Kansas City
37 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.5% below the U.S. average in the Kansas City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood12 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLafayette Regional Health Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 37 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 Lexington 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
$161,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Lafayette County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$801 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,905U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,525 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.5U.S. average = 100 (the Kansas City 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 Kansas City metro area, not Lexington 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
4,5682020: 4,659
Median age
37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%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
Schools, health care and social services (38%); retail (10%); manufacturing (8%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lexington, MO, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: St. Mary's Medical Center, Blue Springs, MO, about 24 miles away. 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

3 public schools in Lexington, run by Lexington R-V.

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
50%U.S.: 76%
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
20°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
37 a year
Nights at or below freezing
118 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.3 inches a year
Snow
14 inches a year
Elevation
809 feet

Weather station: Lexington 3E (1 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: Blue Springs, Kansas City.

Lafayette County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

23 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Commercial Community Historic District, the Highland Avenue Historic District, the Machpelah Cemetery and the Old Neighborhoods Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Harry S Truman National Historic Site40 miles

Read about Lexington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lexington?

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

  • Henrietta, MO273 people, 5 miles
  • Hardin, MO560 people, 6 miles
  • Wellington, MO761 people, 7 miles
  • Camden, MO183 people, 8 miles
  • Mayview, MO218 people, 9 miles
  • Fleming, MO115 people, 10 miles
  • Napoleon, MO210 people, 12 miles
  • Norborne, MO632 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.