Fort Leonard Wood, MO

Micro Area Profile

53,894 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Fort Leonard Wood, MO micropolitan area.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 34% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity776th of 835 metro and micro areas measured23
SchoolsTop 38% of 695 metro and micro areas measured60
Growth601st of 834 metro and micro areas measured37
Housing affordabilityTop 3% of 835 metro and micro areas measured88
ClimateTop 35% of 835 metro and micro areas measured71
Physical resilienceTop 44% of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Access742nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured48
Economic stability425th of 835 metro and micro areas measured51
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Fort Leonard Wood in the bottom 7%.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.2 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 23% of renter income and the median home is 2.6 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
53,894
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$64,466
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
99/sq mi
547.1 sq mi of land
Median age
27.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Missouri
Nearest major airport
SGF
76 mi · Springfield-Branson Ntl
Median home value
$189,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 18% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 4.5% over the past year, to 16,725 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,4632024 ACS 5-Year$64,466Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4672024 ACS 5-Year$30,154Bottom 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.1 minTop 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.8%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year61.8%2nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,725Bottom 17%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−6.3%Bottom 4%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−4.5%Bottom 4%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,66617th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year78.2%Top 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%30th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 48%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.7%91st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.51.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
21
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
41.7%
Top 42% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
51.9%
Top 29% in Missouri
The 12 largest of 21 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Waynesville Sr. HighWAYNESVILLE R-VI1,71917.543%64%
Freedom Elem.WAYNESVILLE R-VI95415.651%51%
Waynesville East Elem.WAYNESVILLE R-VI92018.057%58%
Waynesville MiddleWAYNESVILLE R-VI90615.438%49%
6th Grade CenterWAYNESVILLE R-VI45118.842%51%
Dixon Elem.DIXON R-I38313.230%38%
Partridge Elem.WAYNESVILLE R-VI37518.852%62%
Crocker HighCROCKER R-II29612.312%42%
Wood Elem.WAYNESVILLE R-VI29516.457%52%
Williams Early Childhood CtrWAYNESVILLE R-VI29417.3——
Dixon HighDIXON R-I27113.635%42%
Thayer Elem.WAYNESVILLE R-VI24214.267%67%

46.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Missouri’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,159 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,062, close to the $1,112 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,062 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,500 a year, about 66% of the median household income here of $64,466.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,112 a month.

A median home at $189,800 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $74,022, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
23.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,062
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,112
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$189,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Fort Leonard Wood’s median household income of $64,466, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.6Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year61.2%10th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±662024 ACS 5-Year19,43126th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$809Top 32%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,477Bottom 47%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,062Top 41%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$1,112Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,3312024 ACS 5-Year$189,80040th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$742024 ACS 5-Year$1,15920th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,0842024 ACS 5-Year$74,022Bottom 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%26th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.4%Top 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1942024 ACS 5-Year61738th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%65th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%72nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4362024 ACS 5-Year2,58027th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

37/ 100
Ranks 601 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 53,964 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 82 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
82
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.5
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
+34%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202454k54k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.5 inches, including 10.2 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WAYNESVILLE 2 W, 1.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals10.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

60 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 45% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Ice stormModerate
LandslideModerate
Winter weatherModerate
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, lightning, strong wind, wildfire, inland flooding, hail, drought, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Springfield-Branson Ntl at 76 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year84.4%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle76 miBottom 14%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 4%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Springfield-Branson NtlSGF76 mi8,000 ft
St Louis Lambert IntlSTL118 mi11,020 ft
Scott AFB/Midamerica St LouisBLV138 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.