Best PlacesAppanoose County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Appanoose County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Appanoose County ranks 1,273rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Appanoose County
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.
Appanoose County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Appanoose County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of counties
Where Appanoose County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- Household income$58,266 median, better than only 22% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Appanoose County
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Appanoose County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,266, 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 Appanoose County's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Appanoose County
Appanoose County 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 Appanoose County.
Who works in Appanoose County, and how
Work in Appanoose County 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 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Appanoose County
Appanoose County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of counties and more parkland per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Appanoose County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Appanoose County growing, and who is moving in?
Appanoose County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wapello County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Appanoose County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Appanoose County, month by month
Appanoose County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Appanoose County
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 140 miles away.
The best schools in and around Appanoose County
Schools across Appanoose County average a B, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Moravia Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Lakeview ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Moulton Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Albia Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Howar Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Albia High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Centerville High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Moravia High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Appanoose County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Appanoose County 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 Appanoose County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Appanoose County
Is Appanoose County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Appanoose County ranks 1,273rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, state finances, and a stable housing market, and lowest on health outcomes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Appanoose County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $134,305. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $58,266 median income, cost of living beats 27% of counties.
Is Appanoose County safe?
Yes, Appanoose County is safer than 86% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare Appanoose County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Appanoose County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Appanoose County 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.
Appanoose County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Appanoose County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Appanoose County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Appanoose County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Appanoose County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Appanoose County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.