Best PlacesHickory County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hickory 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.
Hickory County ranks 3,012th 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 Hickory 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.
Hickory County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hickory County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$291 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of counties
- QuietBetter than 80% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 73% of counties
Where Hickory County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$41,095 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 3% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hickory County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hickory County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $41,095; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Hickory County's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hickory County
Hickory County 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 Hickory County.
Who works in Hickory County, and how
Work in Hickory County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Hickory County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hickory County.
Is Hickory County growing, and who is moving in?
Hickory County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Henry County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hickory County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hickory County, month by month
Hickory County sees roughly 74 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 and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Hickory County
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hickory County
Schools across Hickory County average a C+, better than 59% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Skyline Elem.A+ · 80% proficient
- Weaubleau Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Bolivar Intermediate Sch.B− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyline MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Bolivar MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Hermitage MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Skyline HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Bolivar HighB · 46% proficient
- Weaubleau HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hickory County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hickory 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 Hickory County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hickory County
Is Hickory County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hickory County ranks 3,012th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on health outcomes 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 Hickory County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $176,403. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $41,095 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is Hickory County safe?
Hickory County is safer than 34% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $480 per resident a year.
Compare Hickory County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hickory County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hickory 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.
Hickory County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hickory County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hickory County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hickory County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hickory County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hickory 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.