Best Places65345, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65345, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
65345 ranks 25,317th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65345
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.
65345's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65345 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$414 a month, better than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 65345 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65345
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65345 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $54,972; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 65345's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 65345
65345 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 65345.
Who works in 65345, and how
Work in 65345 centers on manufacturing and other services. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 65345
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65345.
What the weather is like in 65345, month by month
65345 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 65345
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65345
Schools across 65345 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cole Camp Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- Morgan Co. R-i Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
- Smithton Elem.C · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Cole Camp HighB− · 43% proficient
- Morgan Co. R-i HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Smithton HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65345 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65345 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 65345 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65345
Is 65345 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65345 ranks 25,317th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and few empty homes, and lowest on walkability and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65345 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,207. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $54,972 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 65345 safe?
Yes, 65345 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $313 per resident a year.
Compare 65345 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65345. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65345 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.
65345 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65345: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65345: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65345: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65345: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65345 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.