Best PlacesImperial, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Imperial, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Imperial ranks 1,159th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Imperial
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.
Imperial's strengths and weaknesses
Where Imperial ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of cities
- Cheap childcare$798 a month, better than 82% of cities
Where Imperial ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of cities
- Short commute29.3 minutes each way, better than only 29% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Imperial
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Imperial home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,238, 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 Imperial'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Imperial
Imperial'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 Imperial.
Who works in Imperial, and how
Work in Imperial centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Imperial
Imperial has more parkland per resident than 96% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Imperial and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Imperial, month by month
Imperial sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Imperial
St Louis Lambert International sits about 25 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.5 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Imperial
Schools across Imperial average a B−, better than 45% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Antonia Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Richard Simpson Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Raymond Nancy Hodge Elem.B · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Antonia Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Ridgewood MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Seckman MiddleC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Seckman Sr. HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Windsor HighC · 34% proficient
- Hillsboro HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Imperial school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Imperial 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 Imperial against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Imperial suits
Families
Schools land around the 45th percentile and crime safety beats 74%.
Common questions about living in Imperial
Is Imperial a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Imperial ranks 1,159th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on tree cover, a stable housing market, and few empty homes, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Imperial expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $272,425. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $90,238 median income, cost of living beats 67% of cities.
Is Imperial safe?
Yes, Imperial is safer than 74% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Imperial?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 26. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of cities.
Is Imperial good for families?
Schools beat 45% of cities, crime safety beats 74%, and childcare runs $798 a month.
Compare Imperial with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Imperial. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Imperial 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.
Imperial detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Imperial: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Imperial: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Imperial: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Imperial: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Imperial 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.