Best PlacesBranson, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Branson, 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.
Branson ranks 1,875th of 2,098 U.S. cities 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 Branson
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.
Branson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Branson ranks high
- Cheap childcare$414 a month, better than 99% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of cities
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 87% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 80% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of cities
Where Branson ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of cities
- Household income$58,327 median, better than only 6% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Branson
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Branson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,327, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Branson's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Branson
Branson'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 Branson.
Who works in Branson, and how
Work in Branson centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Branson
Branson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of cities and more parkland per resident than 84% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Branson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Branson, month by month
Branson sees roughly 76 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° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Branson
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around Branson
Schools across Branson average a B−, better than 52% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Buchanan ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Cedar Ridge ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Blue Eye Elem.B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buchanan IntermediateB+ · 50% proficient
- Forsyth MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Branson Jr. HighB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Blue Eye HighB · 47% proficient
- Branson HighB− · 45% proficient
- Forsyth HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Branson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Branson 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 Branson against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Branson suits
Common questions about living in Branson
Is Branson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Branson ranks 1,875th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Branson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,261. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $58,327 median income, cost of living beats 8% of cities.
Is Branson safe?
Branson is safer than 32% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $478 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Branson?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 39% of cities.
Is Branson good for families?
Schools beat 52% of cities, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $414 a month.
Compare Branson with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Branson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Branson 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.
Branson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Branson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Branson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Branson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Branson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Branson 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.