Best Places73942, OK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 73942, 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.
73942 ranks 25,901st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 73942
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.
73942's strengths and weaknesses
Where 73942 ranks high
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 127 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 73942 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 73942
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 73942 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,716, 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 73942's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 73942
73942 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 73942.
Who works in 73942, and how
Work in 73942 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 73942
73942 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 73942 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 73942, month by month
73942 sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 35° | 22° |
| April | 75° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 96° | 80° | 67° |
| October | 77° | 58° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 73942
The nearest airport, Liberal Mid-America Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Denver International, about 279 miles away.
The best schools in and around 73942
Schools across 73942 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rolla Elem (prek-5)A− · 58% proficient
- Yarbrough EsC · 33% proficient
- Academy EsC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Park EsC− · 27% proficient
- Central JhsD− · 16% proficient
- Hugoton MiddleF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Goodwell HsD+ · 25% proficient
- Hooker HsD · 20% proficient
- Rolla Jh/hs (6-12)D− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 73942 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
73942 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 73942 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 73942
Is 73942 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 73942 ranks 25,901st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 73942 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,644. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $60,716 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 73942 safe?
73942 is safer than 10% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $752 per resident a year.
Compare 73942 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 73942. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 73942 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.
73942 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 73942: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 73942: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 73942: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 73942: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
73942 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.