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Louisiana, Missouri

Louisiana is a small town of about 3,200 people in Pike County, Missouri. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.9 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, St. Louis, is about 71 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,208
up 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$72,100
Pike County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$38,673
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Missouri
83.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Pike County Memorial Hospital
To St. Louis
71 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 1.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPike County Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 71 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 Louisiana 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
$72,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Pike County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$645 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$38,673U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$680 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
46%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Louisiana 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
3,2082020: 3,201
Median age
40.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (30%); other services (14%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (12%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
32%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Pike County Memorial Hospital, Louisiana, MO, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Hannibal Regional Hospital, Hannibal, MO, about 26 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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 Louisiana, run by Louisiana R-II and Boncl R-X.

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
64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
34 a year
Nights at or below freezing
108 a year
Rain and melted snow
37.3 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
492 feet

Weather stations: Clarksville L&d 24 (10 miles away) and Louisiana (1 mile 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: O'Fallon, St. Louis.

Pike County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Georgia Street Historic District and the North Third Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Philadelphia National Historic Site18 miles

Read about Louisiana's history on Wikipedia.

Know Louisiana?

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

  • Clarksville, MO377 people, 10 miles
  • Pleasant Hill, IL895 people, 10 miles
  • New Canton, IL325 people, 14 miles
  • Frankford, MO337 people, 14 miles
  • Eolia, MO482 people, 14 miles
  • Nebo, IL270 people, 15 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.