Best PlacesGoodson, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Goodson, 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.
Goodson ranks 41,888th 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 Goodson
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.
Goodson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Goodson ranks high
- Cheap childcare$414 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 81% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 78% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
Where Goodson ranks low
- Household income$41,917 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 5% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 13% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Goodson
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Goodson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $41,917, 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 Goodson's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Goodson
Goodson'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 Goodson.
Who works in Goodson, and how
Work in Goodson centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Goodson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Goodson.
What the weather is like in Goodson, month by month
Goodson sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, 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 | 43° | 33° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Goodson
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around Goodson
Schools across Goodson average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bolivar Intermediate Sch.B− · 42% proficient
- Halfway Elem.C · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bolivar MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Bolivar HighB · 46% proficient
- Halfway SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Goodson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Goodson 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 Goodson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Goodson
Is Goodson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Goodson ranks 41,888th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and few empty homes, 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 Goodson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,400. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $41,917 median income, cost of living beats 5% of towns.
Is Goodson safe?
Yes, Goodson is safer than 71% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $294 per resident a year.
Compare Goodson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Goodson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Goodson 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.
Goodson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Goodson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Goodson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Goodson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Goodson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Goodson 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.