Best Places65034, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65034, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
65034 ranks 27,235th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65034
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
65034's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65034 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$428 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 65034 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65034
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65034 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,832, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 65034's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65034
65034 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 65034.
Who works in 65034, and how
Work in 65034 centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 65034
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65034.
What the weather is like in 65034, month by month
65034 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 65034
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65034
Schools across 65034 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Latham Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Morgan Co. R-i Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
- Morgan Co. Elem.C+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Morgan Co. MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Tipton Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Morgan Co. R-i HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Tipton HighC− · 27% proficient
- Morgan Co. HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65034 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65034 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 65034 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65034
Is 65034 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65034 ranks 27,235th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, few empty homes, and low property taxes, and lowest on education levels and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65034 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,813. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $66,832 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 65034 safe?
65034 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $440 per resident a year.
Compare 65034 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65034. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65034 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
65034 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65034: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65034: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65034: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65034: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65034 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.