The area was first settled by farmers who located their farms along the wooded streams near present-day Nixa.

[5] Teamsters found it a convenient stopover site when hauling freight between Springfield and Arkansas.

[6] An early resident, Nicholas A. Inman, was a blacksmith from Tennessee, who set up a shop in 1852.

[5] When a post office was opened, a town meeting was held to decide on a name for the new community.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.48 square miles (21.96 km2), all land.

The 2020 United States census[12] counted 23,257 people, 8,170 households, and 5,899 families in Nixa.

Ozarks Technical Community college Richwood Valley Campus is in the Nixa zip code.

The city of Nixa began construction on the largest solar farm in Missouri in June 2017, which was completed and operational in November 2017.

Nixa is home to a train part manufacturer, Snyders Equipment Company, division of New York Air Brake.

Also hailing from the community, Aire-Master, a deodorizer brand that specializes in commercial applications, such as restroom air freshener dispensers.

A petition was submitted in June 2021 to set a recall election for Mayor Brian Steele.

The Christian County clerk certified enough valid signatures to trigger the recall election on Nov 2 2021.

The petition claims Steele should be recalled for abuse of emergency powers by enacting a mandatory mask mandate and other restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have since expired.

Locals often close up shop or skip school for the day to go "grabbin’ for suckers".

It is a family-friendly event held on Nixa's Main Street, with live entertainment and local crafts.

[20] In the Robert Ludlum novels and films (fiction), Nixa is the birthplace of Jason Bourne/David Webb.

[22][23] Several streets in a residential neighborhood northeast of downtown are named for performers on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, including Nixa native Slim Wilson.

The 1985 death of Jackie Johns was not solved until 2010, when DNA evidence proved that fellow Nixa resident Gerald Carnahan had raped and murdered the young woman.