Best PlacesBenton County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Benton County, 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.
Benton County ranks 2,740th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Benton 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.
Benton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Benton County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$390 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 81% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 75% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 73% of counties
Where Benton County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of counties
- Short commute31.5 minutes each way, better than only 11% of counties
- Household income$52,322 median, better than only 12% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Benton County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Benton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,322, 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 Benton County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Benton County
Benton 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 Benton County.
Who works in Benton County, and how
Work in Benton County centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Benton County
Benton County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Benton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Benton County growing, and who is moving in?
Benton County has grown about 9% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kansas City, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Benton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Benton County, month by month
Benton County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Benton County
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 69 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 102 miles away.
The best schools in and around Benton County
Schools across Benton County average a C+, better than 43% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Weaubleau Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Osceola Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Lincoln Elem.B · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Harrison Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- John Boise Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Hermitage MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Harrison High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Cole Camp HighB− · 43% proficient
- Lincoln HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Benton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Benton 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 Benton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Benton County
Is Benton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Benton County ranks 2,740th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and civic engagement, and lowest on empty homes and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Benton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,307. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $52,322 median income, cost of living beats 18% of counties.
Is Benton County safe?
Benton County is safer than 34% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $455 per resident a year.
Compare Benton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Benton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Benton 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.
Benton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Benton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Benton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Benton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Benton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Benton 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.