Best PlacesBoulder City, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Boulder City, 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.
Boulder City ranks 34,909th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Boulder City
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.
Boulder City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Boulder City ranks high
- Cheap childcare$445 a month, better than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 77% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 65% of towns
Where Boulder City ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Boulder City
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Boulder City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,194, 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 Boulder City's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Boulder City
Boulder City's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Boulder City.
Who works in Boulder City, and how
Work in Boulder City centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Boulder City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Boulder City.
What the weather is like in Boulder City, month by month
Boulder City sees roughly 69 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 Boulder City
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 175 miles away.
The best schools in and around Boulder City
Schools across Boulder City average a C+, better than 43% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Benton Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
- TriwayC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Neosho Jr. HighB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- East Newton HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Neosho HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Boulder City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Boulder City 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 Boulder City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Boulder City
Is Boulder City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Boulder City ranks 34,909th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Boulder City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,200. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $58,194 median income, cost of living beats 28% of towns.
Is Boulder City safe?
Boulder City is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
Compare Boulder City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Boulder City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Boulder City 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.
Boulder City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Boulder City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Boulder City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Boulder City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Boulder City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Boulder City 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.