Best Places65301, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65301, 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.
65301 ranks 15,192nd 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 65301
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.
65301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65301 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$430 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute17.6 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 65301 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65301
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,200, 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 65301's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65301
65301'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 65301.
Who works in 65301, and how
Work in 65301 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 65301
65301 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 65301 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 65301, month by month
65301 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 65301
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65301
Schools across 65301 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Parkview Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Horace Mann Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Skyline Elem.B · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sedalia Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Smith Cotton Junior High SchlB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Nixa HighA · 70% proficient
- Smith-cotton High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Cole Camp HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65301 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 65301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 65301 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 65301
Is 65301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65301 ranks 15,192nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and walkability, 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 65301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $185,474. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $64,200 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 65301 safe?
Yes, 65301 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $373 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 65301?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 24. That works out to about 90 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of zip codes.
Is 65301 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $430 a month.
Compare 65301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65301 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.
65301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65301 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.