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Fort Leonard Wood.

All Fort Leonard Wood data Compare Fort Leonard Wood

15,432people live here $67,772median household income▼ 16% below US $1,250median rent per month▼ 12% below US

Fort Leonard Wood is a US Army post. These figures cover the people who live on post, mostly young service members and their families, so it isn’t ranked against other cities. Most people stationed here live off post, in Rolla or Lebanon.

What it's like to live in Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is an unincorporated community in Missouri with rent below the national average, commutes that run shorter than most cities, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Fort Leonard Wood deals with household incomes below the national average, a population that has been shrinking, cold winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Rent below the national average
Short commutes
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Shrinking population
Cold winters
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options

How Fort Leonard Wood compares

Median household income

Fort Leonard Wood$67,772

Missouri avg$70,702

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Fort Leonard Wood$1,250

Missouri avg$1,033

US$1,413

What it takes to move to Fort Leonard Wood

Based on Fort Leonard Wood's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,500

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $50,000 a year
17% of Fort Leonard Wood renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 12% below US

$1,250/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,250 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall.

17% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.1% county unemployment

Unemployment in Pulaski County is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Pulaski County (county-wide)

Safety

115 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Fort Leonard Wood doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 140/100k · Policed by Pulaski County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 65% below US

9 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 9 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 3 in 10 workers drive to work; 36% work from home.

How workers get to work

Work from home

36%

Walk

35%

Drive alone

24%

Carpool

3.6%

Other

1.5%

Public transit

0.2%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 24°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▼ 29% below US

26% bachelor's degree or higher

College degree attainment runs below average at 26%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Ozark National Scenic Riverways (64 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Fort Leonard Wood's strongest points are rent below the national average and commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and a population that has been shrinking. A year of median rent ($1,250/mo) equals 22% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, remote workers (36% of workers here already work from home), and people who want short commutes.

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