Best PlacesDunklin County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dunklin 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.
Dunklin County ranks 2,975th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dunklin 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.
Dunklin County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dunklin County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$360 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 70% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 69% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 68% of counties
Where Dunklin County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 9% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Household income$51,034 median, better than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dunklin County
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dunklin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,034, 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 Dunklin County's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dunklin County
Dunklin County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Dunklin County.
Who works in Dunklin County, and how
Work in Dunklin 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 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Dunklin County
Dunklin County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of counties and more parkland per resident than 78% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Dunklin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dunklin County growing, and who is moving in?
Dunklin County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pemiscot County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dunklin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dunklin County, month by month
Dunklin County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 39° | 32° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Dunklin County
The nearest airport, Cape Girardeau Regional, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dunklin County
Schools across Dunklin County average a C−, better than 17% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bernie Elem.A− · 57% proficient
- Senath-hornersville Elem SchB · 48% proficient
- South Elem.C · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Senath-hornersville Middle SchD+ · 24% proficient
- Kennett MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Bernie HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Delta C-7 HighB− · 40% proficient
- Kennett HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dunklin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dunklin 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 Dunklin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Dunklin County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Dunklin County
Is Dunklin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dunklin County ranks 2,975th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and walkability, and lowest on health outcomes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dunklin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,405. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $51,034 median income, cost of living beats 9% of counties.
Is Dunklin County safe?
Dunklin County is safer than 16% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $603 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Dunklin County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 32. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of counties.
Is Dunklin County good for families?
Schools beat 17% of counties, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $360 a month.
Compare Dunklin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dunklin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dunklin 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.
Dunklin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dunklin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dunklin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dunklin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dunklin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dunklin 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.