Living in Warrensburg, 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 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood50 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 18.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byWestern Missouri Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 51 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 Warrensburg 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

College town. About 1 in 4 residents is a college student, with University of Central Missouri in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

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: $222,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 17%Johnson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $921 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $57,067U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 46%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,593 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 15%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Missouri outside metro areas, not Warrensburg 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: 20,2832020: 19,325
Median age: 24.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 38%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 19%U.S.: 6%
College students: 27%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 (32%); retail (14%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Western Missouri Medical Center, Warrensburg, 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

6 public schools in Warrensburg, run by Warrensburg R-VI.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Central Missouri (10,000 to 19,999 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: 79%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 18°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 40 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 118 a year
Rain and melted snow: 42.9 inches a year
Snow: 12 inches a year
Elevation: 813 feet

Weather stations: Warrensburg 4NW (4 miles away) and Elm (18 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

Blue Springs, MOCity of 62,00034

Kansas City, MOMetro of 2.3 million51

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: Blue Springs, Kansas City.

Johnson County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, 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 Grover Street Victorian Historic District, the Holden and Pine Streets Commercial Historic District and the John A. Adams Farmstead Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Harry S Truman National Historic Site44 miles

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

Read about Warrensburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Warrensburg?

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

Knob Noster, MO3,000 people, 9 miles
Holden, MO2,300 people, 15 miles
La Monte, MO1,000 people, 16 miles
Concordia, MO2,300 people, 18 miles
Windsor, MO2,900 people, 19 miles
Odessa, MO5,700 people, 21 miles

Smaller places

Centerview, MO198 people, 7 miles
Leeton, MO565 people, 12 miles
Chilhowee, MO295 people, 14 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.