The Town Files

The 22 Quietest Small Towns in Missouri

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 141 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Missouri. #1 is Ashland, MO.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 22 Quietest Small Towns in Missouri1. Ashland86th pct2. Forsyth86th pct3. Licking78th pct4. Wright City77th pct5. Eldon75th pct6. Villa Ridge75th pct7. High Ridge74th pct8. Brookfield74th pct9. Lawson73rd pct10. Osage Beach71st pct11. Monroe City70th pct12. Mountain Grove66th pct13. Buffalo66th pct14. Tipton66th pct15. Peculiar65th pct16. Centralia65th pct17. Ste. Genevieve63rd pct18. Vandalia63rd pct19. Ava63rd pct20. Scott City62nd pct21. Weldon Spring61st pct22. Lexington61st pct
  1. 22Lexington, Missouri

    Quieter than 61% of Missouri towns

    4,652 people · Lafayette County · median home $161,300 · income $56,905 · Jan low 20°F · 14 in snow

  2. 21Weldon Spring, Missouri

    Quieter than 61% of Missouri towns

    5,326 people · St. Charles County · median home $544,300 · income $158,548 · Jan low 21°F · 14 in snow

  3. 20Scott City, Missouri

    Quieter than 62% of Missouri towns

    4,346 people · Scott County · median home $147,500 · income $62,599 · Jan low 26°F · 7 in snow

  4. 19Ava, Missouri

    Quieter than 63% of Missouri towns

    2,894 people · Douglas County · median home $148,000 · income $42,500 · Jan low 20°F · 10 in snow

  5. 18Vandalia, Missouri

    Quieter than 63% of Missouri towns

    3,553 people · Audrain County · median home $84,500 · income $50,313 · Jan low 19°F · 16 in snow

  6. 17Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

    Quieter than 63% of Missouri towns

    4,999 people · Ste. Genevieve County · median home $172,400 · income $48,097 · Jan low 24°F · 4 in snow

  7. 16Centralia, Missouri

    Quieter than 65% of Missouri towns

    4,541 people · Boone County · median home $174,300 · income $66,438 · Jan low 19°F · 16 in snow

  8. 15Peculiar, Missouri

    Quieter than 65% of Missouri towns

    5,621 people · Cass County · median home $283,900 · income $94,519 · Jan low 21°F · 14 in snow

  9. 14Tipton, Missouri

    Quieter than 66% of Missouri towns

    2,920 people · Moniteau County · median home $130,200 · income $49,257 · Jan low 20°F · 11 in snow

  10. 13Buffalo, Missouri

    Quieter than 66% of Missouri towns

    3,290 people · Dallas County · median home $141,800 · income $39,896 · Jan low 20°F · 9 in snow

  11. 12Mountain Grove, Missouri

    Quieter than 66% of Missouri towns

    4,313 people · Wright County · median home $87,200 · income $37,415 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  12. 11Monroe City, Missouri

    Quieter than 70% of Missouri towns

    2,652 people · Monroe County · median home $159,300 · income $55,737 · Jan low 18°F · 15 in snow

  13. 10Osage Beach, Missouri

    Quieter than 71% of Missouri towns

    4,637 people · Camden County · median home $355,200 · income $55,994 · Jan low 25°F · 4 in snow

  14. 9Lawson, Missouri

    Quieter than 73% of Missouri towns

    2,541 people · Ray County · median home $186,000 · income $65,941 · Jan low 17°F · 19 in snow

  15. 8Brookfield, Missouri

    Quieter than 74% of Missouri towns

    4,111 people · Linn County · median home $102,100 · income $53,000 · Jan low 18°F · 19 in snow

  16. 7High Ridge, Missouri

    Quieter than 74% of Missouri towns

    4,242 people · Jefferson County · median home $172,200 · income $70,917 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  17. 6Villa Ridge, Missouri

    Quieter than 75% of Missouri towns

    2,601 people · Franklin County · median home $166,600 · income $73,826 · Jan low 23°F · 11 in snow

  18. 5Eldon, Missouri

    Quieter than 75% of Missouri towns

    4,416 people · Miller County · median home $157,400 · income $41,684 · Jan low 22°F · 6 in snow

  19. 4Wright City, Missouri

    Quieter than 77% of Missouri towns

    4,881 people · Warren County · median home $238,800 · income $80,152 · Jan low 20°F · 12 in snow

  20. 3Licking, Missouri

    Quieter than 78% of Missouri towns

    2,851 people · Texas County · median home $116,900 · income $35,652 · Jan low 21°F · 11 in snow

  21. 2Forsyth, Missouri

    Quieter than 86% of Missouri towns

    2,730 people · Taney County · median home $192,600 · income $45,824 · Jan low 24°F · 7 in snow

  22. 1Ashland, Missouri

    Quieter than 86% of Missouri towns

    4,747 people · Boone County · median home $258,500 · income $93,143 · Jan low 23°F · 17 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Missouri towns0255075100$63K$254K$446K$638K$830KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 22 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Missouri.

More Missouri rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 141 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Missouri (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: