IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in West Plains, MO
West Plains is a big small town of 12,441 people in Howell County, Missouri. It's about 85 miles from Springfield, MO and 155 miles from Memphis, TN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 89°F and winter highs 44°F, with about 9 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $170k and rent runs about $810 a month.
12,441people
$170kTypical home
$810/moRent
89° / 44°Summer / winter
9"Snow
245Sunny days
103Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 12,441
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 935 people per sq mi
- 155 mi to Memphis, TN
- 85 mi to Springfield, MO
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $170k (≈$1,071/mo)
- Median rent $810/mo
- Median household income $44k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 89°F
- Winter highs around 44°F
- Muggy summers (dew point 67°F)
- 245 sunny days a year (113 totally clear)
- 120 cloudy days a year
- 38 of 90 winter days are gray
- 103 days a year with rain or snow
- 9" of snow a year
- 2 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 3 days a year over 100°F
- 10 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (276 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,398 per 100k)
People
- Median age 36
- 30% of households have kids
- 19% are 65 or older
- 17% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 7% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 71 mi to TBN airport
- 158 mi to MEM (major hub)
- 69 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1977
- 88% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 994 ft
- 449 mi to the ocean
- 199 mi to a big lake
- 10 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 141 mi to the nearest ski area
- 14 mi to the nearest campground
- 5 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 35 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 7 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 1 museum within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- Farmers market in town
Everyday
- Schools in the top 50% of Missouri districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 79 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Howell County: R+67 in 2024
- Missouri: R+18 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Moderate earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk