Best Places66531, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66531, 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.
66531 ranks 15,147th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 66531
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.
66531's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66531 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 81% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 66531 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66531
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66531 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,479, 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 66531's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 66531
66531'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 66531.
Who works in 66531, and how
Work in 66531 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 66531
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 66531.
What the weather is like in 66531, month by month
66531 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 43° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 66531
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around 66531
Schools across 66531 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Amanda Arnold ElemA− · 61% proficient
- Riley County Grade SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Junction City Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Riley County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Junction City Sr HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66531 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66531 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 66531 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 66531
Is 66531 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66531 ranks 15,147th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, health care access, and population health, and lowest on crime and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66531 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,600. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $79,479 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 66531 safe?
66531 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $516 per resident a year.
Compare 66531 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66531. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66531 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.
66531 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66531: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66531: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66531: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66531: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66531 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.