Fulton, Missouri

Area Profile

12,617 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Fulton, in Callaway County.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 38% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 23% of 3,904 published cities69
SchoolsTop 49% of 2,668 published cities52
Growth1575th of 2,973 published cities49
Housing affordabilityTop 17% of 4,223 published cities96
ClimateTop 43% of 4,223 published cities72
Physical resilienceTop 48% of 4,182 published cities60
Access4136th of 4,226 published cities42
Economic stability3788th of 4,226 published cities33
The quick read

Fulton ranks in the top 23% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $51,429.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.5 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles: rent takes 20% of median household income and the median home is 3.0 times it.

At a glance

Population
12,617
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,429
Bottom 25% nationally
Density
1,023/sq mi
12.3 sq mi of land
Median age
34.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Callaway County
Missouri
Metro area
Jefferson City, MO
Nearest major airport
STL
85 mi · St Louis Lambert Intl
Median home value
$155,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.3% is lower than 89% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.7% over the past year, to 21,448 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,429 is below 75% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,999$51,429Bottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,905$25,045Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.9%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute19.0 minBottom 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher21.7%Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment21,448Bottom 27%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.2%Top 13%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.7%Top 16%June 2026
Labor force22,183Bottom 27%June 2026
Labor force participation46.7%Bottom 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,750Bottom 11%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,030Bottom 23%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.4%Bottom 21%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.3%Bottom 11%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202460k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,429 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Jefferson City, MO
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers2,280$76,170
Registered Nurses1,910$85,010
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,880$40,980
Cashiers1,650$29,420
Office Clerks, General1,600$39,640
Retail Salespersons1,540$30,400

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Callaway County, MO, which contains this city.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.5 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
38.1%
Bottom 45% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
45.5%
Bottom 42% in Missouri
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
FULTON SR. HIGHFULTON 5865916.1
FULTON MIDDLEFULTON 5851313.537%42%
MCINTIRE ELEM.FULTON 5832113.435%48%
BUSH ELEM.FULTON 5831212.536%43%
FULTON EARLY CHILDHOOD CNTRFULTON 5825211.5
BARTLEY ELEM.FULTON 5822412.448%54%
FULTON TREATMENT CTR.DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE306.0
STARK ELEM.MO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF193.8
WHEELER HIGHMO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF193.2
WHEELER MIDDLEMO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF132.6
FULTON RECEPTION AND DIAG CTRDEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS0
CREMER THERAPEUTIC COMM CENTERDEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS0

51.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Missouri’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $836 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.0 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
19.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$836
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$155,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.03Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate48.2%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3524,450Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$83$836Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,639$155,900Bottom 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.5%Top 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.6%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
49/ 100
Ranks 1575 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2022 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 12,573 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
16
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.3
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202413k12k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420251715
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (0%).

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 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.4 inches, including 16.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLUMBIA RGNL AP, 14.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index49.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation41.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall16.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index40.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

60 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake.

EarthquakeElevated
Winter weatherModerate
HailModerate
Ice stormModerate
Cold waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, lightning, wildfire, strong wind, tornado, drought, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Callaway County records 4.3 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.7 per 100,000 residents in Callaway County.

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
8.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
24.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Callaway County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Fulton rather than Fulton itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 85 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
St Louis Lambert IntlSTL85 mi11,020 ft
St Louis RgnlALN102 mi8,099 ft
Springfield-Branson NtlSGF136 mi8,000 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
64
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Other cities in Jefferson City, MO

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Jefferson CityCole County42,48867vs Fulton

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Fulton side by side with a similar place.

Fulton vs Fort OglethorpeFulton vs SedaliaFulton vs CarthageFulton vs Valley

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

ZIP codes in Fulton

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
6525122,579$63,07265