Best Places65717, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 65717, 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.
65717 ranks 29,809th 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 65717
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.
65717's strengths and weaknesses
Where 65717 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$359 a month, better than 99% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 69% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 60% of zip codes
Where 65717 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 65717
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 65717 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,695, 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 65717's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 65717
65717'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 65717.
Who works in 65717, and how
Work in 65717 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 65717
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 65717.
What the weather is like in 65717, month by month
65717 sees roughly 68 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 65717
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 160 miles away.
The best schools in and around 65717
Schools across 65717 average a C+, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain Grove Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Wilder Elem.B · 47% proficient
- Norwood Elem.B · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mansfield Jr. HighB+ · 50% proficient
- Mountain Grove MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Willow Springs HighB− · 43% proficient
- Mansfield HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Mountain Grove HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 65717 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
65717 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 65717 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 65717
Is 65717 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 65717 ranks 29,809th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on health outcomes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 65717 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,677. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $59,695 median income, cost of living beats 32% of zip codes.
Is 65717 safe?
65717 is safer than 12% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $657 per resident a year.
Compare 65717 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 65717. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 65717 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.
65717 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 65717: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 65717: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 65717: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 65717: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
65717 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.