Best Places65606, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65606, 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.
65606 ranks 28,331st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 65606
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.
65606's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65606 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$340 a month, better than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 65606 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Household income$54,418 median, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65606
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65606 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,418, 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 65606's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 65606
65606 runs younger 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 65606.
Who works in 65606, and how
Work in 65606 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 65606
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65606.
What the weather is like in 65606, month by month
65606 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 65606
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 83 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65606
Schools across 65606 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Thayer Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Alton ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- Couch Elem.C− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Thayer Sr. HighB− · 42% proficient
- Alton HighD · 23% proficient
- Couch HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65606 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65606 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 65606 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65606
Is 65606 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65606 ranks 28,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and a strong job market, and lowest on health outcomes 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 65606 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $132,106. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $54,418 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 65606 safe?
65606 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $642 per resident a year.
Compare 65606 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65606. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65606 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.
65606 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65606: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65606: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65606: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65606: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65606 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.