Best PlacesArcola, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Arcola, 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.
Arcola ranks 41,911th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Arcola
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.
Arcola's strengths and weaknesses
Where Arcola ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$499 a month, better than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 72% of towns
Where Arcola ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Arcola
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arcola home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $56,325; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Arcola's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Arcola
Arcola runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arcola.
Who works in Arcola, and how
Work in Arcola centers on agriculture & forestry and other services. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Arcola
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Arcola.
What the weather is like in Arcola, month by month
Arcola sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 23° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Arcola
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Arcola
Schools across Arcola average a C, better than 40% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Stockton Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Greenfield Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stockton MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Stockton HighB · 47% proficient
- Greenfield HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arcola school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arcola 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 Arcola against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Arcola
Is Arcola a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arcola ranks 41,911th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on the weather and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arcola expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $225,286. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $56,325 median income, cost of living beats 26% of towns.
Is Arcola safe?
Arcola is safer than 14% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $626 per resident a year.
Compare Arcola with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arcola. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arcola 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.
Arcola detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arcola: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arcola: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arcola: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arcola: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arcola 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.