Lake Ozark, Missouri

Population

Growing. Up 8.1% since 2020.

2,247

people, the 225th-largest of Missouri's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Missouri's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.8%

of 2,016 jobs located in Lake Ozark are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 150% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,304

a month. Missouri's median is $1,033.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $264.

A $264 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Miller County.

• $534 Tract 9625.01
• $798 Tract 9625.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$822–$1,233

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,304 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

66% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 112 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 23% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 66% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–1.1% to the 1,864 homes here.

2–20

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 21% more than Missouri's.

$278,100

median home value in Lake Ozark.

• $278,100 Lake Ozark
• $230,300 Missouri
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year