Best Places65473, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65473, 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.
65473 ranks 22,612th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65473
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.
65473's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65473 ranks high
- Short commute9.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$457 a month, better than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 65473 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65473
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65473 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,422, 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 65473's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65473
65473 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 65473.
Who works in 65473, and how
Work in 65473 centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 37%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in 65473
65473 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 65473 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 65473, month by month
65473 sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 65473
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65473
Schools across 65473 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thayer Elem.A · 67% proficient
- Gasconade Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Wood Elem.B · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- 6th Grade CenterB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Waynesville Sr. HighB− · 45% proficient
- Plato HighC− · 27% proficient
- Newburg HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65473 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65473 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 65473 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65473
Is 65473 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65473 ranks 22,612th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, population health, and affordable childcare, and lowest on civic engagement and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65473 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,040. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $62,422 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 65473 safe?
65473 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $496 per resident a year.
Compare 65473 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65473. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65473 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.
65473 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65473: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65473: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65473: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65473: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65473 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.