Discover the Smallest Town in Missouri – Everyone Could Fit In a Subcompact Car

Missouri may be known for its largest cities like Kansas City and St. Louis, but the state is really defined by its small towns. Missouri has some of the country’s most fertile farmland. It is also home to a flourishing livestock and agriculture industry. One of the smallest towns in the Show Me State has a population so small that its residents could fit in a subcompact car.

The Smallest Town in Missouri Has Three Residents

The smallest towns in Missouri have tiny populations that could easily fit in a car. Though some of the data may have changed in the past few years, we’re basing this article on the last official United States census, which was conducted in 2020.

That report found Baker, MO. to be the smallest town in the state. In fact, calling Baker a town seems like an exaggeration. It is actually an inactive incorporated village in Stoddard County, Missouri with a population of three people per the US 2020 census.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Baker has a total area of 0.21 square miles. The village is actually so small that there is no video footage of it on Google Maps. However, from a satellite view, you can see what appears to be a couple of houses (one with a swimming pool in the backyard) as well as farmland and several barns.

Residents

Baker’s only residents consist of a single family. According to Mental Floss, this family farms 3,300 acres of rice, soybeans, and wheat, and their farms extend past the boundaries of Baker.

The village’s population number has not changed since the 2010 census. However, it is reported that one person left and another arrived. This adds up thanks to the Mental Floss article from 2017 which reported that Mark Rinehart took the land over from his father, Max. He now works the family farms with his son, Eric.

The Rinehart family appears to be doing pretty well financially. Statistics from the 2000 census reported the median income for a household and family in the village as $177,361.

Location

Baker, MO is located in southeastern Missouri in Stoddard County. The village is so small it’s easy enough to miss. There isn’t much to do in Baker unless you’re a member of the Rinehart family. It lies along the Castor River on Missouri Route HH and is about 10 miles away from Dexter, MO.

Interestingly, this village is within 30 miles of four different states — Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The closest city with a population of over 50,000 people is Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Other Small Towns in Missouri

Baker isn’t the only village in Missouri with a tiny population. In fact, according to Missouri Demographics, a total of 20 towns, villages, etc. in the state have a population of under 20 people.

One of these is a populated place known as Cave, MO. As of the 2022 Population Estimates Program, Cave is reported to have a population of just five people. Cave lies within Lincoln County and has a total area of total area of 0.99 square miles, according to the United States Census Bureau.