Best PlacesCallaway County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Callaway 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.
Callaway County ranks 1,815th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Callaway 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.
Callaway County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Callaway County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$498 a month, better than 92% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 70% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 68% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 64% of counties
Where Callaway County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 27% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 76 pleasant days a year, better than only 31% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Callaway County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Callaway County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,023, 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 Callaway County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Callaway County
Callaway 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 Callaway County.
Who works in Callaway County, and how
Work in Callaway County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Callaway County
Callaway County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 69% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Callaway County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Callaway County growing, and who is moving in?
Callaway County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Columbia, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Callaway County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Callaway County, month by month
Callaway County sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Callaway County
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Callaway County
Schools across Callaway County average a C+, better than 50% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Callaway Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- North Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Community Elem.B · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hallsville MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- South Callaway MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Southern Boone MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson City HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Chamois HighB · 47% proficient
- New Bloomfield HighC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Callaway County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Callaway 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 Callaway County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Callaway County suits
Common questions about living in Callaway County
Is Callaway County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Callaway County ranks 1,815th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low disaster risk, and a stable housing market, and lowest on air quality and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Callaway County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,121. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $72,023 median income, cost of living beats 56% of counties.
Is Callaway County safe?
Callaway County is safer than 52% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $417 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Callaway County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of counties.
Is Callaway County good for families?
Schools beat 50% of counties, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $498 a month.
Compare Callaway County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Callaway County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Callaway 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.
Callaway County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Callaway County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Callaway County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Callaway County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Callaway County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Callaway 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.