Best Places65043, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65043, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
65043 ranks 11,909th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65043
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.
65043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65043 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$498 a month, better than 94% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 65043 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65043
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,192, 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 65043's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65043
65043's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 65043.
Who works in 65043, and how
Work in 65043 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 65043
65043 has more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 65043 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 65043, month by month
65043 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 65043
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65043
Schools across 65043 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Callaway Hills Elem.C · 33% proficient
- New Bloomfield Elem.C− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewis And Clark MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson City HighB+ · 52% proficient
- New Bloomfield HighC+ · 39% proficient
- South Callaway HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65043 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 65043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65043
Is 65043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65043 ranks 11,909th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and low crime, and lowest on air quality and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,329. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $86,192 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 65043 safe?
Yes, 65043 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $267 per resident a year.
Compare 65043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65043 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.
65043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65043 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.