Best PlacesBranch, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Branch, 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.
Branch ranks 38,273rd of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Branch
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.
Branch's strengths and weaknesses
Where Branch ranks high
- Cheap childcare$426 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 64% of towns
Where Branch ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Branch
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Branch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,899, 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 Branch's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Branch
Branch'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 Branch.
Who works in Branch, and how
Work in Branch centers on transportation & warehousing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Branch
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Branch.
What the weather is like in Branch, month by month
Branch sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Branch
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Branch
Schools across Branch average a C+, better than 45% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Skyline Elem.A+ · 80% proficient
- Macks Creek Elem.C · 32% proficient
- Mallory Elem.C− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyline MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Buffalo MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Skyline HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Macks Creek HighC · 33% proficient
- Buffalo HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Branch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Branch 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 Branch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Branch
Is Branch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Branch ranks 38,273rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on empty homes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Branch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,077. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $65,899 median income, cost of living beats 35% of towns.
Is Branch safe?
Branch is safer than 25% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $455 per resident a year.
Compare Branch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Branch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Branch 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.
Branch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Branch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Branch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Branch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Branch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Branch 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.