Best Places66061, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66061, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
66061 ranks 3,205th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 66061
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.
66061's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66061 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$120,555 median, better than 90% of zip codes
Where 66061 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$996 a month, better than only 33% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 44% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66061
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66061 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $120,555, 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 66061's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 66061
66061'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 66061.
Who works in 66061, and how
Work in 66061 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 66061
66061 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 66061 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 66061, month by month
66061 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 66061
Kansas City International sits about 28 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.7 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 66061
Schools across 66061 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Manchester Park ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Cedar Creek ElemA · 70% proficient
- Mize Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie Trail Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Lexington Trails Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Chisholm Trail Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- De Soto High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Olathe Northwest High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Shawnee Mission South HighB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66061 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66061 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 66061 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 66061 suits
Families
Schools land around the 44th percentile and crime safety beats 61%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 59% of zip codes and health care access beats 66%.
Common questions about living in 66061
Is 66061 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66061 ranks 3,205th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, state infrastructure, and what local pay buys, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66061 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $366,460. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $120,555 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 66061 safe?
Yes, 66061 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 66061?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 23. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 59% of zip codes.
Is 66061 good for families?
Schools beat 44% of zip codes, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $996 a month.
Compare 66061 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66061. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66061 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.
66061 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66061: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66061: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66061: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66061: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66061 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.