Neosho, Missouri

Area Profile

13,224 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Neosho, in Newton County.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 40% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 34% of 3,904 published cities64
SchoolsTop 50% of 2,668 published cities52
GrowthTop 20% of 2,973 published cities67
Housing affordabilityTop 8% of 4,223 published cities100
ClimateTop 45% of 4,223 published cities71
Physical resilience3007th of 4,182 published cities35
Access3371st of 4,226 published cities78
Economic stability3362nd of 4,226 published cities42
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $57,891, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published city profiles.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles: rent takes 15% of median household income and the median home is 2.8 times it.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, ice storm and cold wave.

At a glance

Population
13,224
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$57,891
Bottom 36% nationally
Density
848/sq mi
15.6 sq mi of land
Median age
33.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Newton County
Missouri
Metro area
Joplin, MO-KS
Nearest major airport
XNA
39 mi · Northwest Arkansas Ntl
Median home value
$163,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8% is lower than 70% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.7% over the past year, to 27,248 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,104$57,891Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,407$26,440Bottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.2%Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.0 minBottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher21.7%Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment27,248Bottom 35%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.5%Top 28%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.7%Top 16%June 2026
Labor force28,321Bottom 35%June 2026
Labor force participation59.5%Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$53,370Bottom 3%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,980Bottom 6%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.6%Bottom 14%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 30%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202458k45k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $57,891 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 — Joplin, MO-KS
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers3,470$47,430
Registered Nurses2,670$74,930
Stockers and Order Fillers2,620$35,460
Retail Salespersons2,420$30,740
Cashiers2,400$29,050
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,050$34,800

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 Newton County, MO, which contains this city.

39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across all schools here
Math proficiency
39.3%
Top 50% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
48.2%
Top 49% in Missouri
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
NEOSHO HIGHNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT1,53018.2
NEOSHO JR. HIGHNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT75315.445%52%
MIDDLE SCH.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT70213.531%43%
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER ELEM.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT59116.445%57%
BENTON ELEM.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT52313.434%39%
SOUTH ELEM.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT28513.634%54%
GOODMAN ELEM.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT27213.645%50%
RISE ElementaryNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT23015.3
WESTVIEW ELEM.WESTVIEW C-61129.350%30%
FIELD EARLY CHILD./KDGN. CTR.NEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT11214.0
LEARNING INITIATIVE NEOSHO/CRNEOSHO SCHOOL DISTRICT0
CROWDER AVTSCROWDER COLLEGE0

60.1% 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 $745 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.8 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$745
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$163,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.82Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.5%Bottom 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2675,239Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$95$745Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,700$163,400Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.4%Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.3%Top 49%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
67/ 100
Top 20% 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 grown 8% since 2020, reaching 13,782 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 6.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
89
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.7
Top 22% nationally
Year over year
−1%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202414k13k
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
20222023202420259891
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (−1%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JOPLIN REGIONAL AIRPORT, 21.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation45.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

Physical risk

35 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Ice stormElevated
Strong windModerate
HailModerate
Inland floodingElevated
DroughtModerate
Winter weatherModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveElevated
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, wildfire, lightning, 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.

Newton County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 12.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.8 per 100,000 residents in Newton County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
10.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
16.6
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 Newton 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 Neosho rather than Neosho 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 39 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Northwest Arkansas NtlXNA39 mi8,801 ft
Springfield-Branson NtlSGF61 mi8,000 ft
Tulsa IntlTUL95 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
63
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Other cities in Joplin, MO-KS

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
JoplinJasper County52,59365vs Neosho
CarthageJasper County15,57463vs Neosho
Webb CityJasper County13,22168vs Neosho

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 Neosho side by side with a similar place.

Neosho vs AlbertvilleNeosho vs CullmanNeosho vs TullahomaNeosho vs Portage

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

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 Neosho

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
6485025,126$63,46964