Best Places65246, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65246, 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.
65246 ranks 24,261st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65246
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.
65246's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65246 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$453 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute21.7 minutes each way, better than 77% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 65246 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65246
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65246 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,868, 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 65246's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65246
65246 runs older 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 65246.
Who works in 65246, and how
Work in 65246 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 65246
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65246.
What the weather is like in 65246, month by month
65246 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 65246
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65246
Schools across 65246 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Keytesville Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Brunswick Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Salisbury Elem.C− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Brunswick HighB · 50% proficient
- Salisbury HighB− · 42% proficient
- Glasgow HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65246 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65246 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 65246 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65246
Is 65246 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65246 ranks 24,261st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and short commutes, and lowest on biking and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65246 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $132,570. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $73,868 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 65246 safe?
65246 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $452 per resident a year.
Compare 65246 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65246. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65246 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.
65246 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65246: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65246: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65246: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65246: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65246 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.