Best PlacesDade County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dade 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.
Dade County ranks 2,808th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Health outcomes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a strong job market.
The best neighborhoods in Dade 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.
Dade County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dade County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of counties
- Cheap childcare$546 a month, better than 84% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 71% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
Where Dade County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Household income$55,160 median, better than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dade County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dade County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,160, 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 Dade County's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Dade County
Dade County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dade County.
Who works in Dade County, and how
Work in Dade County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Dade County
Dade County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Dade County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dade County growing, and who is moving in?
Dade County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Springfield, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dade County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dade County, month by month
Dade County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 23° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Dade County
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dade County
Schools across Dade County average a C, better than 37% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Dadeville R-ii SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Stockton Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Walnut Grove Elem.B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bois D'arc Elem.B · 43% proficient
- Stockton MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Lockwood Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Dadeville Sr. HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Walnut Grove HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Stockton HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dade County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dade 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 Dade County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Dade County
Is Dade County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dade County ranks 2,808th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, civic engagement, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dade County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,793. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $55,160 median income, cost of living beats 20% of counties.
Is Dade County safe?
Dade County is safer than 22% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $545 per resident a year.
Compare Dade County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dade County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dade 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.
Dade County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dade County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dade County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dade County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dade County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dade 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.