Best PlacesCentertown, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Centertown, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Centertown ranks 18,263rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Centertown
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.
Centertown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Centertown ranks high
- Cheap childcare$382 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 86% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 78% of towns
Where Centertown ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 27% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Centertown
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Centertown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,540, 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 Centertown's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Centertown
Centertown 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 Centertown.
Who works in Centertown, and how
Work in Centertown centers on public administration and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Centertown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Centertown.
What the weather is like in Centertown, month by month
Centertown sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Centertown
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Centertown
Schools across Centertown average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cole Co. R-i Elem.B · 47% proficient
- Pioneer Trail ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- California Elem.B− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- California MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson City HighB+ · 52% proficient
- California HighB− · 42% proficient
- Jamestown C-i HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Centertown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Centertown 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 Centertown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Centertown
Is Centertown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Centertown ranks 18,263rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low crime, and civic engagement, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Centertown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $231,095. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $82,540 median income, cost of living beats 73% of towns.
Is Centertown safe?
Yes, Centertown is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $207 per resident a year.
Compare Centertown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Centertown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Centertown 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.
Centertown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Centertown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Centertown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Centertown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Centertown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Centertown 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.