Best PlacesJefferson City, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Jefferson City metro, 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.
Photo by Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via geo
Jefferson City ranks 252nd of 387 U.S. metro areas on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on affordable childcare and health care access. The weaker spots are walkability, air quality, and cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in the Jefferson City metro
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 Jefferson City
The towns and districts of the Jefferson City metro, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the metro.
Russellville
Fewer homes sit empty, crime runs lower, and it is quieter.
Downtown Jefferson City
Local pay stretches further, though fewer households have young kids.
Holts Summit
More adults hold degrees, though prices have run up more.
California & Tipton
More residents vote, though tree cover is thinner.
Linn
Commutes are longer and biking is worse.
New Bloomfield
Fulton
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Scores across Jefferson City run from about the 4th to the 90th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Jefferson City's strengths and weaknesses
Jefferson City lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Affordable childcare is the standout, in the top 1% of metro areas. Health care access and state finances follow.
The one real hole is walkability, near the bottom of the country. Air quality and cell coverage also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Jefferson City ranks high
- Cheap childcare$423 a month, better than 99% of metro areas
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of metro areas
- State fiscal healthBetter than 74% of metro areas
- Short commute21.2 minutes each way, better than 74% of metro areas
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 73% of metro areas
Where Jefferson City ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of metro areas
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of metro areas
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of metro areas
- Internet speedBetter than only 9% of metro areas
- BikingBetter than only 10% of metro areas
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson City
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,241, 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 Jefferson City's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Jefferson City
Jefferson City'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 Jefferson City.
Who works in Jefferson City, and how
Work in Jefferson City centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Jefferson City
Jefferson City has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most metro areas and less late-night activity than most metro areas. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jefferson City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jefferson City growing, and who is moving in?
Jefferson City has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Columbia, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jefferson City go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jefferson City, month by month
Jefferson City sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson City
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson City
Schools across Jefferson City average a B−, better than 52% of metro areas.
Top elementary schools
- Blair Oaks Elem.A+ · 73% proficient
- Fatima Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- North Elem.B · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Blair Oaks Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Lewis And Clark MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Blair Oaks HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Jefferson City HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Capital City High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City against the other 386 metro areas.
Who Jefferson City suits
Common questions about living in Jefferson City
Is Jefferson City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson City ranks 252nd of 387 metro areas. It scores highest on affordable childcare, health care access, and state finances, and lowest on walkability and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jefferson City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $218,255. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $77,241 median income, cost of living beats 62% of metro areas.
Is Jefferson City safe?
Jefferson City is safer than 51% of metro areas. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $414 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jefferson City?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of metro areas.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jefferson City?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Russellville, Downtown Jefferson City, and Holts Summit. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Jefferson City good for families?
Schools beat 52% of metro areas, crime safety beats 51%, and childcare runs $423 a month.
Is Jefferson City good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 62% of metro areas, though advertised internet speeds beat only 9% of metro areas. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Jefferson City with other metro areas
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson City 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.
Jefferson City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson City 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.