Best Places65559, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65559, 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.
65559 ranks 22,772nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 65559
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.
65559's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65559 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$408 a month, better than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 72% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 70% of zip codes
Where 65559 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65559
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65559 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,443, 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 65559'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 65559
65559 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 65559.
Who works in 65559, and how
Work in 65559 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 65559
65559 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 65559 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 65559, month by month
65559 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 42, 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 | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 65559
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65559
Schools across 65559 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cuba Elem.A− · 58% proficient
- Mark Twain Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Lucy Wortham James Elem.B+ · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cuba MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Rolla MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- St. James MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- St. James HighB · 50% proficient
- Rolla Sr. HighB− · 43% proficient
- Cuba HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65559 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65559 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 65559 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65559
Is 65559 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65559 ranks 22,772nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and state finances, and lowest on an overheated housing market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65559 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,880. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,443 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 65559 safe?
65559 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $503 per resident a year.
Compare 65559 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65559. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65559 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.
65559 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65559: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65559: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65559: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65559: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65559 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.