Best Places66838, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 66838, 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.
66838 ranks 30,416th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 66838
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.
66838's strengths and weaknesses
Where 66838 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 97% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 64% of zip codes
Where 66838 ranks low
- Household income$44,159 median, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 66838
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 66838 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,159, 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 66838's effective rate of 1.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 66838
66838 runs older than the country, 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 66838.
Who works in 66838, and how
Work in 66838 centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 66838
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 66838.
What the weather is like in 66838, month by month
66838 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 66838
The nearest airport, Manhattan Regional, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around 66838
Schools across 66838 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Council Grove Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Chase County Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Council Grove Junior Senior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Chase County Junior Senior High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 66838 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
66838 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 66838 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 66838
Is 66838 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 66838 ranks 30,416th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, quiet, and state infrastructure, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 66838 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $91,200. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $44,159 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 66838 safe?
66838 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $499 per resident a year.
Compare 66838 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 66838. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 66838 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.
66838 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 66838: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 66838: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 66838: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 66838: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
66838 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.