Best PlacesAvalon, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Avalon, 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.
Avalon ranks 23,238th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Avalon
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.
Avalon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Avalon ranks high
- Cheap childcare$437 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of towns
- Household income$89,736 median, better than 76% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 76% of towns
Where Avalon ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 17% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Avalon
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Avalon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,736, 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 Avalon's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Avalon
Avalon's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Avalon.
Who works in Avalon, and how
Work in Avalon centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Avalon
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Avalon.
What the weather is like in Avalon, month by month
Avalon sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Avalon
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Avalon
Schools across Avalon average a C+, better than 52% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Field Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Hale Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- Tina-avalon Elem.C · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chillicothe MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Chillicothe HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Hale HighB · 47% proficient
- Tina-avalon HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Avalon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Avalon 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 Avalon against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Avalon
Is Avalon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Avalon ranks 23,238th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, and lowest on internet speeds and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Avalon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $235,146. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $89,736 median income, cost of living beats 88% of towns.
Is Avalon safe?
Avalon is safer than 34% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $431 per resident a year.
Compare Avalon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Avalon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Avalon 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.
Avalon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Avalon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Avalon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Avalon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Avalon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Avalon 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.