Living in Rolla, MO

Phelps County

Rolla is the Phelps County seat and a genuine south-central Missouri college town anchored by Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), a real, nationally recognized STEM-focused public research university headquartered directly in the city. Missouri S&T enrolled 5,552 undergraduates (fall 2024) and over 7,000 students total, and is genuinely ranked as Missouri's top public engineering school by U.S. News, with a #76-tied national ranking out of 194 engineering programs and a #5 national ranking from MONEY for engineering majors specifically. The university's real, substantial student population directly drives Rolla's genuinely young median age (28.2) -- well below the roughly 38-39 year median common across this dataset's other Missouri markets. Housing carries a real, disclosed cross-source spread ($201,295-$284,000 depending on source), with Redfin's own median sale price up a real 26.1% year-over-year, though a separate source reported real, short-term volatility (down from $260,000 to $225,000 within six months). Rolla's own effective property tax rate (approximately 1.02%-1.03%) runs essentially at the national median and above Missouri's own statewide average -- the highest of any city in Phelps County. Rolla's median household income ($46,204) runs below the national median, with a real, disclosed 23.55% poverty rate that plausibly reflects the city's substantial student population rather than its settled working population alone. Rolla's crime rate runs a real, disclosed 37.50% above the national rate and 21.25% above Missouri's own statewide rate -- a genuine, disclosed concern this record states plainly. Rolla's genuinely young, university-driven median age is why this record uses best-areas rather than retiring as its ninth topic.

Explore Rolla in depth

• Moving to Rolla: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Rolla
• Housing in Rolla
• Taxes & Insurance in Rolla
• Climate in Rolla
• Schools & Families in Rolla
• Healthcare & Safety in Rolla
• Pros and Cons of Living in Rolla
• Best Areas to Live in Rolla

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers with a direct connection to Missouri S&T -- faculty, staff, graduate researchers, or families of enrolled students -- and young professionals or recent graduates drawn to a genuine, small-scale college-town character; movers prioritizing Missouri's real, current flat 4.0% state income tax; and anyone specifically seeking Missouri's top-ranked public engineering-university town.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers seeking a low, stable, single-figure home price, given the real, disclosed cross-source spread and short-term volatility this record found; retirees or those specifically seeking an older, more settled demographic profile, given Rolla's genuinely young, university-driven median age; or anyone whose top relocation priority is a low crime rate, given Rolla's real, disclosed crime rate running meaningfully above both national and Missouri statewide averages.