Best Places66542, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66542, 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.
66542 ranks 8,781st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 66542
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.
66542's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66542 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 66542 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66542
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66542 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,856, 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 66542's effective rate of 1.47%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 66542
66542 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 66542.
Who works in 66542, and how
Work in 66542 centers on public administration and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 66542
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 66542.
What the weather is like in 66542, month by month
66542 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 43° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 58° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 66542
Kansas City International sits about 50 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 66542
Schools across 66542 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shawnee Heights ElemC+ · 39% proficient
- Tecumseh South ElemC · 34% proficient
- Berryton ElemC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shawnee Heights MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Shawnee Heights HighC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66542 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66542 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 66542 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 66542
Is 66542 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66542 ranks 8,781st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66542 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,266. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $101,856 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 66542 safe?
Yes, 66542 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
Compare 66542 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66542. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66542 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.
66542 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66542: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66542: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66542: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66542: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66542 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.