An Introduction to Nixa

Photo by Lexie Ehly

              When Nixa High School senior Lexie Ehly returns home on the tour bus after a band competition, she’s met by a group of parents and adults in the community who have congregated in the parking lot. They honk their car horns in congratulations and hold signs that welcome the students home. For Ehly, Nixa “feels really close-knit, and it just feels like home…. Everyone in the community is there for each other.”

               The city of Nixa began as a small farming town, with a population that the Missouri Census Data Center estimates was 276 citizens in 1910. In 2020, The US Census Bureau reported that Nixa’s population had grown to over 23,000. The median household income of Nixa is over 150% of the median household income of nearby Springfield. Data USA found in 2020 that the most common employment sectors for Nixa residents were health care and social assistance, retail trade and food service and accommodations.

Photo from Data USA

Nixa is known for the quality of its school system; for the test scores of its students, Nixa High School is ranked among the top schools in the state. The Springfield Business Journal reported that the school’s football stadium was renovated three years ago to accommodate crowds of up to 4,400. In February 2023, Nixa High School’s Aetos Center for Performing Arts, a project that KY3 News reported cost $14 million, was finished. “The schools have identified that not everyone is going to go to college…they’re working to train kids to go straight into the workforce,” said Jarad Giddens, Nixa mayor pro tempore and District 1 representative. Nixa High School is part of the GO CAPS program, which gives students an opportunity to shadow people working in careers in the Ozarks that they may be interested in pursuing for themselves. “People rally around the kids in the community,” said Giddens. The community’s support for its youth often leads to friendships and connections between parents.

               Although Nixa has grown considerably in the past 20 years, many residents say that it has retained its “small-town feel.” The community has several traditions. In May every year, Nixa celebrates Sucker Day, a fried sucker fish, arts, crafts and music festival that began in 1957. Attendees gather to support local vendors and to watch “Sucker Mania” wrestling matches. Additionally, the Nixa City Chamber of Commerce announces citywide garage sale weekends in both May and September of every year. People from all across the city gather in each other’s yards and mingle during these weekends.

               Nixa’s police department receives widespread support from the community. Giddens said, “I’ve never seen a community stick up for law enforcement as much as Nixa does.” Police chief Joe Campbell concentrates on community involvement and interaction with citizens. Campbell and his officers often take breaks from work to play basketball in the park with local youth. Resources such as Alarms.org and Safewise often rate Nixa as one of the safest cities in Missouri.

               “No matter what’s going on, people in Nixa, when they’re together, get along,” said Giddens. Between the quality of the schools, the safety of the neighborhoods and the closeness of the community, it’s easy to see why many people are proud to call Nixa home.