Living in Purdy, 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 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Purdy itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 high school and 1 other.
A hospital close byCox Monett Hospital in Monett, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 120 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 Purdy 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: $92,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 20%Barry County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $36,711U.S.: $80,734
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 Purdy 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: 1,0622020: 1,029
Median age: 30.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 35%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%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 (16%); retail (16%)
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cox Monett Hospital, Monett, MO, about 7 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Mercy Hospital Joplin, Joplin, MO, about 37 miles away. Medicare gives it 1 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 Purdy, run by Purdy R-II.

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: 24°F
July average high: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 34 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 89 a year
Rain and melted snow: 46.4 inches a year
Snow: 7 inches a year
Elevation: 1,470 feet

Weather station: Monett 4SW (4 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

Cox Monett HospitalEmergency room7

Bentonville, ARCity of 63,00037

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million120

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: Cox Monett Hospital, Bentonville, Tulsa.

Barry County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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:

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield15 miles
Pea Ridge National Military Park25 miles
George Washington Carver National Monument26 miles
Buffalo National River60 miles

Read about Purdy's history on Wikipedia.

Know Purdy?

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

Monett, MO10,200 people, 7 miles
Pierce City, MO1,300 people, 10 miles
Cassville, MO3,300 people, 10 miles
Aurora, MO7,700 people, 15 miles
Granby, MO2,100 people, 20 miles
Crane, MO1,500 people, 20 miles

Smaller places

Butterfield, MO420 people, 5 miles
Wheaton, MO693 people, 9 miles
Fairview, MO432 people, 9 miles
Exeter, MO765 people, 10 miles
Rocky Comfort, MO (unincorporated)253 people, 11 miles
Verona, MO520 people, 12 miles
Freistatt, MO182 people, 14 miles
Wentworth, MO104 people, 15 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.