What it's like to live in Festus
Festus is a small city in Missouri with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Festus deals with cold winters, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Fast-growing population
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Cold winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Festus compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Festus
Based on Festus's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,844
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $36,880 a year
- 26% of Festus renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$44,720
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $22,360
- Homes cost 3.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 35% below US
$922/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $922 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $223,600. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $223,600 · 26% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Jefferson County is 3.7%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Jefferson County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 59% below US
136 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 900/100k · Festus Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 9% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 87°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 32% below US
24% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site (23 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Festus's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are cold winters and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city. A year of median rent ($922/mo) equals 15% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and anyone prioritizing low crime.
Other places near Festus
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