Best Places65079, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65079, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
65079 ranks 21,113th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 65079
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.
65079's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65079 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$439 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 65079 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65079
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65079 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,143, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 65079's effective rate of 0.42%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65079
65079 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 65079.
Who works in 65079, and how
Work in 65079 centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 65079
65079 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 65079 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 65079, month by month
65079 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 65079
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65079
Schools across 65079 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Osage Beach ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Osage Upper Elem.B− · 41% proficient
- Hurricane Deck ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oak Ridge IntermediateB+ · 49% proficient
- Camdenton MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Osage MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Osage HighB− · 45% proficient
- Camdenton HighB− · 42% proficient
- Morgan Co. HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65079 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65079 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 65079 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65079
Is 65079 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65079 ranks 21,113th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, health care access, and civic engagement, and lowest on empty homes and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65079 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $397,954. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $65,143 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 65079 safe?
65079 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $351 per resident a year.
Compare 65079 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65079. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65079 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.
65079 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65079: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65079: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65079: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65079: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65079 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.