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Towns / Missouri

Pacific, Missouri

Pacific is a small town of about 7,800 people in Franklin County, Missouri. It has grown about 7% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4 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 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
7,824
up 6.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$249,300
Franklin County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$62,860
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Washington, MO
To St. Louis
29 mi
straight line

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 4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood20 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMercy Hospital Washington in Washington, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 29 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 Pacific 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
$249,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Franklin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$906 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,860U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,328 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Pacific 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
7,8242020: 7,328
Median age
39.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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
Retail (18%); schools, health care and social services (16%); construction (15%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Hospital Washington, Washington, MO, about 15 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

6 public schools in Pacific, run by Meramec Valley R-III.

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
79%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
40 a year
Nights at or below freezing
116 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.3 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
484 feet

Weather stations: Washington (13 miles away) and Pacific (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: Mercy Hospital Washington, O'Fallon, St. Louis.

Franklin 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site22 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park32 miles
  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park52 miles

Read about Pacific's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pacific?

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

  • Lake Tekakwitha, MO233 people, 3 miles
  • LaBarque Creek, MO (unincorporated)1,457 people, 6 miles
  • Augusta, MO265 people, 9 miles
  • Cedar Hill, MO (unincorporated)1,261 people, 10 miles
  • Scotsdale, MO198 people, 10 miles
  • Cedar Hill Lakes, MO203 people, 11 miles
  • Parkdale, MO156 people, 12 miles
  • Twin Oaks, MO583 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.