Once you've experienced the neighborly charm and modern conveniences, you'll feel right at home in Barton County.  Amazingly low cost of living means you'll enjoy a quality of life unequalled in much of the U.S.  The beauty of the prairie's edge at the base of Ozark Mountain Country provides a marvelous backdrop for a vibrant, growth-minded community.  

Links at the left of this page will take you to information on demographics, housing, employment, recreation, and civic life.  The links below further illustrate why many have found a new quality of life in our area.  Come discover a new way of life in Barton County and prepare to be impressed! 

• Comfortable Cost of Living
• Quality of Life Index Rates
• Excellent Schools
• Healthy Lifestyle
• Proactive Government
• Transportation & Location
• Child Care
• Things to Do & See
• Business Environment & Employment
• Media
• Utilities
• History of Lamar/Barton County
• Phone Numbers You Should Know
• Finding a Home & Job
• Maps

Comfortable Cost of Living

New home construction is 28.4% less expensive in Lamar/Barton County, compared to the national average. The property tax for Lamar/Barton County is only two-thirds of the national average.  Here's more on Lamar's Cost of Living index, based on the average U.S. cost index of 100.0:

• Overall Cost of Living:  90.6
• Housing Costs:  89.6
• Food Costs:  89.8
• Transportation Costs:  83.0
• Utility Costs:  93.4
• Health Costs:  82.5

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Quality of Life Index Rates

Lamar is an award-winning "All Missouri Certified City" active in Missouri Community Betterment.  As one of the first and only remaining cities active in CB since its 1960s inception, Lamar wins awards and recognitions every year and is well-known for her pro-active approach to community development. 

Lamar/Barton County is close enough to urban perks to stay connected, but just far enough away for small town safety, hospitality, and charm.  Lamar's crime rate index is only 140.6 (crimes per one hundred thousand inhabitants) compared to the national average of 446.1.  Other quality of life measures for Lamar (based on an index of (100 = best) include:

• The Air Quality of Lamar is 69 verses national average of 33 (based on 100 = best)
• The Water Quality of Lamar is 62 verses national average of 49 (based on 100 = best)
• Lamar is a one of the cleanest areas of the Country. The Pollution Index is 98, verses national average of 53      (based on 100 = best)
• Lamar's Student to Teacher ratio is 14.4, verses the national average of 17.7
• Better roads and smooth traffic results in an Average Commute Time for Lamar workers of 11.1 minutes, verses the national average of 19.1 minutes

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Excellent Schools

Lamar R-1 Public Schools participate in Missouri's A+ Program, providing incentives to High School graduates with full-tuition scholarships to many public Junior Colleges in the State.  Barton County offers three public school systems each with low teacher/student ratios, modern vocational/technical education, and quality leadership under local control.  School districts are located at Lamar, Golden City, and Liberal .  

New in 2000, the Ambassador Christian Academy provides    private, parochial education in Lamar. 

Several choices for high-quality, affordable post-secondary education is available within 30 minutes of Barton County. 

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Healthy Lifestyle

Barton County and the surrounding area is served by a locally owned and independently operated hospital.  Barton County Memorial Hospital opened its doors to you in October of 1949 and since that time has made "Health Caring" our primary concern.  BCMH provides general acute and emergency medical services 24 hrs/day.  To learn more about Barton County Memorial, visit  http://www.bcmh.net.

Other pubic health services are available from the Barton County Health Department and Home Health Agency.  Immunizations, WIC, family learning, cholesterol screening, certified birth and health certificates, and a wide host of other services are available.  A Home Health representative may be reached anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling (417) 682-3363.

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Transportation & Location

In Lamar/Barton County, you're never far away from what's happening.  Lamar is located along U.S. Highway 71, a four-lane highway linking to interstates at Kansas City and Joplin, Missouri, and Fayetville, Arkansas.  Lamar/Barton County is less than 500 miles from 43% of the U.S. Population.  The Central Time Zone at Lamar allows you more time to communicate with both coasts during business hours.  

Are you an aviation enthusiast?  Lamar's Municipal Airport, adjacent to a four-lane highway, is a general aviation airport with a 2900' runway is slated for expansion.  If you prefer to be a passenger in aviation, commuter services are available nearby in Joplin (30 minutes away).  Commercial air traffic to major cities is available at Springfield (90 minutes away) and Kansas City (120 minutes away).  

Distances from Lamar to Key U.S. Cities and local links:

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Child Care

Below is the web link to the State of Missouri Department of Health Child Care section.  Residence can also obtain the names of the licensed child care facilities of Lamar and Barton County by clicking on the "Show Me Child Care in Missouri" hyperlink. 

http://www.dhss.mo.gov/ChildCare/

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Things to Do & See

The Ozark Mountains meet the Prairie for a delightful backdrop of lots of things to see and do in Barton County.  From birthplace tours of Missouri's only native U.S. President, to a vast, colorful expanse of the state's largest remaining tallgrass prairie, Lamar/Barton County is the right place for tons of family fun.  Visit the links below for the tourism sections of our website.  

Local Points of Interest

Seasonal Calendar of Festivals and Events

Calendar of Upcoming Meetings and Events

Hospitality Services

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Business Environment & Employment

The health of our local economy is supported by a vibrant mix of agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and tourism. Economic stability, a strong heritage, unique quality of life, and local commitment to orderly growth make a recipe for success for your business.   The Business Attraction and Expansion areas of our web site hold a wealth of economic research information on the advantages of locating your company in Barton County.  Follow the links to our online community profile for more information on the local economy. 

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Media

Barton County is served by many high-quality newspapers.  The Lamar Democrat provides extensive local city and county coverage, published Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Covering much of Lamar and the southern half of Barton County is the Carthage Press.  The Liberal News is published weekly for the western half of Barton County.  The Joplin Globe provides metro, regional, and national coverage daily.     Several shopping guide publications also serve the region: the X-Changer 2, the Ag Country Shopper, and the Lucky Dime.   

Our local radio station, Star 101.7 FM, broadcasts 24 hours a day with vintage classic rock and local high school sports coverage.  Cox Communications provides 49 channels of digital and analog cable television.  For information on cable service in Lamar, call 1-800-743-0285.  The area is also within easy reach of four regional television stations and other metro radio stations.  

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Utilities

As a municipal utility, Lamar enjoys what is generally among the top ten least expensive electric rates in the state of Missouri.  Compared to the national index average of 100.0, Lamar's utility cost index is only 93.4.  For a listing of contacts for local utilities, click here.  

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History of Lamar/Barton County

Wild-West legend Wyatt Earp started his law enforcement career in Lamar.  The only native Missourian to be elected U.S. President was born in Lamar.  Celebrations of our history are alive and well.  Visit our History page for more details.  

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Phone Numbers You Should Know (417 Area Code)

Airport.....682-9998

Chamber of Commerce.....682-3595
102 West 10th, Lamar 

Golden City City Hall.....537-4351

Library.....537-4991

Lamar City Hall.....682-5554

Parks and Recreation.....682-5851

Water Park.....682-5383

Lamar City Lake.....682-3161

Library.....682-5355

Liberal City Hall.....843-6025

Mindenmines City Hall.....842-3216

Golden City.....537-4447

Lamar.....682-5435
131 West 11th Street, Downtown

Liberal.....843-6505
128 South Main, Downtown

Mindenmines.....842-3416
604 Main

Ambassador Christian Academy...681-0889

Golden City...537-4900

Lamar...682-3527

Liberal ...843-5115

Barton County Real Estate....682-6700

Lamar/United Country Real Estate.....682-6191

Kay Moore Realty .....682-6858

O’Sullivan Properties .....682-5521

Sudden Link Cable TV 800-743-0285

Lamar Water & Electric 682-5554

Barton County Electric 682-5636

Liberal Water & Electric 843-6025

KEI Internet Services 232-4774

Barton Energy Services (Propane) 682-5636

County Rural Water Utility (CPWSD) 682-3401

Empire District Electric 800-206-2300

Missouri Gas Energy 800-366-5808

ATT (Lamar) 800-559-7928

Windstream  (Liberal) 800-501-1754

GTE Telephone (Golden City) 800-483-4400

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Finding a Home & Job

Real Estate & Rental Agencies in Barton County

Employment Links for Barton County

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Maps

Online Interactive Mapping Tools

Click on any of the following map images to 
enlarge in a separate window.

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