Best PlacesHowell County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Howell County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Howell County ranks 2,729th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Howell 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.
The best areas in Howell County
The parts of Howell County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Mountain View
It is quieter and crime runs lower.
West Plains
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Willow Springs
Prices have run up less and homes cost less.
Scores across Howell County run from about the 1st to the 37th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Howell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Howell County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$369 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 61% of counties
Where Howell County ranks low
- Household income$51,785 median, better than only 11% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Howell County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Howell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,785, 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 Howell County's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 Howell County
Howell County'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 Howell County.
Who works in Howell County, and how
Work in Howell County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Howell County
Howell County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Howell County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Howell County growing, and who is moving in?
Howell County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Elkhart, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Howell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Howell County, month by month
Howell County sees roughly 70 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 Howell County
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around Howell County
Schools across Howell County average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Howell Valley Elem.A− · 60% proficient
- South Fork Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Fairview Elem.B · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willow Springs MiddleB · 47% proficient
- West Plains MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Liberty MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- West Plains Sr. HighB− · 44% proficient
- Willow Springs HighB− · 43% proficient
- Liberty Sr. HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Howell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Howell 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 Howell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Howell County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Howell County
Is Howell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Howell County ranks 2,729th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and low property taxes, and lowest on low incomes and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Howell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,767. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $51,785 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is Howell County safe?
Howell County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $512 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Howell County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Howell County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mountain View, West Plains, and Willow Springs. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Howell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Howell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Howell 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.
Howell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Howell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Howell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Howell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Howell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Howell 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.