Best Places65285, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65285, 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.
65285 ranks 21,358th 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 65285
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.
65285's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65285 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$399 a month, better than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 73% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 65285 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65285
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65285 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,906, 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 65285's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 65285
65285 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 65285.
Who works in 65285, and how
Work in 65285 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 65285
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65285.
What the weather is like in 65285, month by month
65285 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 65285
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65285
Schools across 65285 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Centralia IntermediateB · 45% proficient
- Eugene Field Elem.C+ · 39% proficient
- Hatton-mccredie Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chester Boren MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Mexico MiddleC · 34% proficient
- North Callaway Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Centralia HighB · 50% proficient
- Paris HighC+ · 37% proficient
- North Callaway HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65285 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65285 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 65285 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65285
Is 65285 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65285 ranks 21,358th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low disaster risk, and state finances, and lowest on air quality and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65285 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $201,386. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $79,906 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 65285 safe?
65285 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $492 per resident a year.
Compare 65285 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65285. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65285 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.
65285 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65285: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65285: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65285: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65285: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65285 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.