The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.9% below the U.S. average in the St. Louis metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 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 0.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Troy Buchanan High, about 3 miles away.
- A hospital close byMercy Hospital Lincoln in Troy, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 42 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 Moscow Mills 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
Boom town. The population is up 28% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.
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
- $196,400U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 14%Lincoln County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,107 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $73,468U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 67%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $2,076 a yearMissouri: $1,948
- Homes built before 1940
- 9%U.S.: 12%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 95.1U.S. average = 100 (the St. Louis 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Moscow Mills 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
- 4,3882020: 3,425
- Median age
- 32.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 10%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 26%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 18%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 9%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
- Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (24%); schools, health care and social services (17%); manufacturing (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 7%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 3%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: Mercy Hospital Lincoln, Troy, MO, about 4 miles away. 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: SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, Lake Saint Louis, MO, about 13 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
2 public schools in Moscow Mills, run by Troy R-III. The nearest public high school is Troy Buchanan High, about 3 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
- 84%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
- 20°F
- July average high
- 87°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 42 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 107 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 41.2 inches a year
- Snow
- 16 inches a year
- Elevation
- 510 feet
Weather station: Elsberry 1 S (17 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
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: Mercy Hospital Lincoln, O'Fallon, St. Louis.
Lincoln 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
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site41 miles
- Gateway Arch National Park45 miles
- New Philadelphia National Historic Site52 miles
Read about Moscow Mills's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Troy, MO15,200 people, 3 miles
- Wright City, MO5,900 people, 10 miles
- Winfield, MO1,700 people, 10 miles
- St. Paul, MO3,800 people, 12 miles
- Lake St. Louis, MO19,100 people, 14 miles
- Truesdale, MO1,100 people, 14 miles
Smaller places
- Fountain N' Lakes, MO181 people, 4 miles
- Flint Hill, MO566 people, 6 miles
- Chain of Rocks, MO104 people, 7 miles
- Foristell, MO919 people, 9 miles
- Old Monroe, MO281 people, 9 miles
- Josephville, MO529 people, 11 miles
- Hawk Point, MO772 people, 11 miles
- Innsbrook, MO653 people, 14 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.