The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Missouri For 2024


The fastest-growing cities in Missouri are Cottleville and Wentzville for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Is being in an area of Missouri that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?

Depends on who you ask.

Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Kansas City and St. Louis, while others want peace and quiet like in Savannah and St. Robert, thank you very much.

But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Missouri have grown the fastest.

After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Show Me State that have people climbing over each other to get in.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Missouri For 2024

  1. Cottleville
  2. Wentzville
  3. Parkville
  4. Grain Valley
  5. Republic
  6. St. Robert
  7. Kearney
  8. Smithville
  9. Peculiar
  10. Nixa

Fastest Growing Cities In Missouri Map

What’s the fastest growing city in Missouri for 2024? Based on the most recent ACS data, Cottleville ranks as the fastest-growing city in Missouri. If you happen to be a resident of Cottleville, you’re probably not surprised to find it on our list.

If you’re surprised — and you’re wondering why these places are a big deal — keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in Missouri grow like weeds.

For more Missouri state reading:

The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Missouri For 2024

1. Cottleville

Cottleville, MO

Source: Flickr User MTHarden | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 5,584
Population 2010: 2,914
Percent Growth 91.6%
Absolute Growth: 2,670
More on Cottleville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

2. Wentzville

Wentzville, MO

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 44,584
Population 2010: 25,386
Percent Growth 75.6%
Absolute Growth: 19,198
More on Wentzville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

3. Parkville

Parkville, MO

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Americasroof at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,669
Population 2010: 5,311
Percent Growth 44.4%
Absolute Growth: 2,358
More on Parkville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

4. Grain Valley

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 15,688
Population 2010: 11,428
Percent Growth 37.3%
Absolute Growth: 4,260
More on Grain Valley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

5. Republic

Republic, MO

Source: Wikipedia User Michaelalandis | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 18,824
Population 2010: 13,772
Percent Growth 36.7%
Absolute Growth: 5,052
More on Republic: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

6. St. Robert

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,242
Population 2010: 3,929
Percent Growth 33.4%
Absolute Growth: 1,313
More on St. Robert: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

7. Kearney

Kearney, MO

Source: Wikipedia User Americasroof | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,491
Population 2010: 7,864
Percent Growth 33.4%
Absolute Growth: 2,627
More on Kearney: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

8. Smithville

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 10,416
Population 2010: 7,896
Percent Growth 31.9%
Absolute Growth: 2,520
More on Smithville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

9. Peculiar

Peculiar, MO

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 5,675
Population 2010: 4,325
Percent Growth 31.2%
Absolute Growth: 1,350
More on Peculiar: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

10. Nixa

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 23,523
Population 2010: 18,021
Percent Growth 30.5%
Absolute Growth: 5,502
More on Nixa: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Show Me State for 2024

To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:

  • Current Population
  • Population in 2010
  • Growth rate from 2010 to Current (The latest available data which came out in Dec 2022)

We ranked all 128 Missouri cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.

The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Show Me State.

And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:

[Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]

The data has been updated for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the fastest growing cities in Missouri.

Here’s a graph of the cities in Missouri with the most significant percent increase in population:
Fastest Growing Cities in Missouri Graph For 2024

Click to enlarge

Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Missouri, You Know?

So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Missouri are led by Cottleville which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.

The fastest-growing cities in Missouri are Cottleville, Wentzville, Parkville, Grain Valley, Republic, St. Robert, Kearney, Smithville, Peculiar, and Nixa.

It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!

These places have been growing (or shrinking) the slowest (fastest):

  1. Ferguson
  2. Jennings
  3. Caruthersville

For more Missouri reading, check out:

Fastest Growing Places In Missouri For 2024

Rank City Population Population 2010 Growth Absolute Growth
1 Cottleville 5,584 2,914 91.6% 2,670
2 Wentzville 44,584 25,386 75.6% 19,198
3 Parkville 7,669 5,311 44.4% 2,358
4 Grain Valley 15,688 11,428 37.3% 4,260
5 Republic 18,824 13,772 36.7% 5,052
6 St. Robert 5,242 3,929 33.4% 1,313
7 Kearney 10,491 7,864 33.4% 2,627
8 Smithville 10,416 7,896 31.9% 2,520
9 Peculiar 5,675 4,325 31.2% 1,350
10 Nixa 23,523 18,021 30.5% 5,502
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.