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St. Joseph, Missouri

St. Joseph is a small city of about 71,000 people in Buchanan County, Missouri. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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 46 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
71,001
down 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$154,200
Buchanan County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$57,956
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Joseph area
86.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph
To Kansas City
46 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.6% below the U.S. average in the St. Joseph 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 neighborhood347 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 35.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town26 public schools: 14 elementary, 4 middle, 4 high schools and 4 other.
  • A hospital close byMosaic Life Care at St. Joseph is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 46 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 St. Joseph 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
$154,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Buchanan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$898 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$57,956U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,225 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
27%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.4U.S. average = 100 (the St. Joseph 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. Joseph metro area, not St. Joseph 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
71,0012020: 72,134
Median age
38.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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
Schools, health care and social services (24%); manufacturing (21%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mosaic Life Care at St. Joseph, Saint Joseph, MO, in town. 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

26 public schools in St. Joseph, run by St. Joseph and Division of Youth Service.

Colleges in or next to town: Missouri Western State University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
67%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
17°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
39 a year
Nights at or below freezing
126 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.8 inches a year
Snow
21 inches a year
Elevation
909 feet

Weather stations: St Joseph Rosecrans Ap (6 miles away) and Troy 3N (15 miles 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: Kansas City, Kansas City.

Buchanan County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

60 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the John Patee House, the Cathedral Hill Historic District, the Central-North Commercial Historic District and the Dewey Avenue-West Rosine Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Campus life. Check Missouri Western State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about St. Joseph's history on Wikipedia.

Know St. Joseph?

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

  • Agency, MO651 people, 8 miles
  • Amazonia, MO244 people, 10 miles
  • Easton, MO226 people, 10 miles
  • Cosby, MO114 people, 10 miles
  • Faucett, MO (unincorporated)114 people, 11 miles
  • De Kalb, MO243 people, 13 miles
  • Troy, KS985 people, 15 miles
  • Clarksdale, MO244 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.