Best Places66728, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66728, 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.
66728 ranks 20,236th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 66728
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.
66728's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66728 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 66728 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66728
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66728 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,563, 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 66728's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 66728
66728 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 66728.
Who works in 66728, and how
Work in 66728 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 66728
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 66728.
What the weather is like in 66728, month by month
66728 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 66728
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 147 miles away.
The best schools in and around 66728
Schools across 66728 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Central ElemC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Columbus Junior High And High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66728 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66728 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 66728 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 66728
Is 66728 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66728 ranks 20,236th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66728 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $116,700. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $71,563 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 66728 safe?
Yes, 66728 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare 66728 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66728. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66728 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.
66728 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66728: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66728: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66728: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66728: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66728 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.