Best Places66749, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66749, 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.
66749 ranks 21,271st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 66749
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.
66749's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66749 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 66749 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66749
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66749 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,275, 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 66749's effective rate of 1.59%, 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 66749
66749 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 66749.
Who works in 66749, and how
Work in 66749 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 66749
66749 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 66749 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 66749, month by month
66749 sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 66749
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 73 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 102 miles away.
The best schools in and around 66749
Schools across 66749 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Crest ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
- Humboldt Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Iola Middle SchoolD · 19% proficient
- Humboldt Middle SchoolD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Humboldt High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Iola Sr HighD · 23% proficient
- Crest HighD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66749 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66749 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 66749 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 66749
Is 66749 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66749 ranks 21,271st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66749 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $106,285. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $63,275 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 66749 safe?
66749 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $491 per resident a year.
Compare 66749 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66749. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66749 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.
66749 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66749: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66749: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66749: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66749: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66749 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.