Best PlacesElk Creek, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elk Creek, 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.
Elk Creek ranks 48,778th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elk Creek
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.
Elk Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elk Creek ranks high
- Cheap childcare$349 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 72% of towns
Where Elk Creek ranks low
- Household income$39,890 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elk Creek
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elk Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $39,890, 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 Elk Creek's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Elk Creek
Elk Creek 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 Elk Creek.
Who works in Elk Creek, and how
Work in Elk Creek centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Elk Creek
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elk Creek.
What the weather is like in Elk Creek, month by month
Elk Creek sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Elk Creek
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elk Creek
Schools across Elk Creek average a C, better than 30% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Willow Springs Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- Houston Elem.C · 34% proficient
- Summersville Elem.C · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willow Springs MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Cabool MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- Houston MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Willow Springs HighB− · 43% proficient
- Summersville HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Houston HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elk Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elk Creek 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 Elk Creek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elk Creek
Is Elk Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elk Creek ranks 48,778th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and low property taxes, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elk Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $131,718. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $39,890 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Elk Creek safe?
Elk Creek is safer than 17% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $582 per resident a year.
Compare Elk Creek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elk Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elk Creek 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.
Elk Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elk Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elk Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elk Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elk Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elk Creek 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.