Best PlacesBarry County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Barry County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Barry County ranks 2,450th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Barry 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.
Barry County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Barry County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$420 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 68% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
- Short commute23.8 minutes each way, better than 53% of counties
Where Barry County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Barry County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Barry County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,144, 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 Barry County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Barry County
Barry County'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 Barry County.
Who works in Barry County, and how
Work in Barry County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. 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 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Barry County
Barry County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Barry County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Barry County growing, and who is moving in?
Barry County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lawrence County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Barry County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Barry County, month by month
Barry County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Barry County
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 183 miles away.
The best schools in and around Barry County
Schools across Barry County average a C, better than 36% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cassville IntermediateB · 47% proficient
- Eureka Springs Elem. SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Shell Knob Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Monett MiddleC+ · 39% proficient
- Eureka Springs Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Pierce City MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Pierce City HighB− · 40% proficient
- Cassville HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Eureka Springs High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Barry County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Barry 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 Barry County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Barry County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Barry County
Is Barry County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Barry County ranks 2,450th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and tree cover, and lowest on the weather and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Barry County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,490. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $62,144 median income, cost of living beats 38% of counties.
Is Barry County safe?
Barry County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $459 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Barry County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of counties.
Is Barry County good for families?
Schools beat 36% of counties, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $420 a month.
Compare Barry County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Barry County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Barry 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.
Barry County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Barry County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Barry County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Barry County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Barry County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Barry 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.