Best PlacesCraig County, OK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Craig County, 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.
Craig County ranks 2,848th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Noise pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state finances.
The best neighborhoods in Craig 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.
Craig County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Craig County ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 84% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 63% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 95 pleasant days a year, better than 57% of counties
- Short commute23.6 minutes each way, better than 54% of counties
Where Craig County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Craig County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Craig County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,433, 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 Craig County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Craig County
Craig 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 Craig County.
Who works in Craig County, and how
Work in Craig County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Craig County
Craig County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Craig County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Craig County growing, and who is moving in?
Craig County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Tulsa, OK.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Craig County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Craig County, month by month
Craig County sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Craig County
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 182 miles away.
The best schools in and around Craig County
Schools across Craig County average a D+, better than 14% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cleora Public SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Welch EsC+ · 37% proficient
- Vinita EsC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ewing Halsell MsC− · 29% proficient
- Chelsea MsD · 20% proficient
- Ketchum MsD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Bluejacket HsD+ · 25% proficient
- South Coffeyville HsD+ · 25% proficient
- Vinita HsD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Craig County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Craig 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 Craig County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Craig County
Is Craig County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Craig County ranks 2,848th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state finances, low property taxes, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Craig County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,735. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $54,433 median income, cost of living beats 19% of counties.
Is Craig County safe?
Craig County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $447 per resident a year.
Compare Craig County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Craig County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Craig 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.
Craig County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Craig County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Craig County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Craig County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Craig County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Craig 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.