Best Places66604, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66604, 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.
66604 ranks 16,114th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 66604
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.
66604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66604 ranks high
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 66604 ranks low
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66604
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,762, 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 66604's effective rate of 1.39%, 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 66604
66604's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 66604.
Who works in 66604, and how
Work in 66604 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 66604
66604 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 66604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 66604, month by month
66604 sees roughly 88 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 66604
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around 66604
Schools across 66604 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wanamaker ElemB · 50% proficient
- Mccarter ElemB− · 40% proficient
- Mcclure ElemC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Washburn Rural Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Marjorie French Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Landon Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Washburn Rural HighC · 33% proficient
- Hope Street Charter AcademyD · 20% proficient
- Topeka West HighD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66604 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 66604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 66604 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 66604
Is 66604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66604 ranks 16,114th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and walkability, and lowest on the schools and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $160,959. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $65,762 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 66604 safe?
66604 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $496 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 66604?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 20. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of zip codes.
Is 66604 good for families?
Schools beat 13% of zip codes, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $796 a month.
Compare 66604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66604 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.
66604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66604 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.