Best PlacesLa Russell, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around La Russell, 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.
La Russell ranks 33,045th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in La Russell
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.
La Russell's strengths and weaknesses
Where La Russell ranks high
- Cheap childcare$389 a month, better than 99% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 71% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 70% of towns
- Short commute24.3 minutes each way, better than 67% of towns
Where La Russell ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in La Russell
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median La Russell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,874, 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 La Russell's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in La Russell
La Russell'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 La Russell.
Who works in La Russell, and how
Work in La Russell centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in La Russell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across La Russell.
What the weather is like in La Russell, month by month
La Russell sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of La Russell
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around La Russell
Schools across La Russell average a C−, better than 27% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mt. Vernon IntermediateB · 47% proficient
- Wildwood Elem.C · 35% proficient
- Central Elem.C · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mt. Vernon MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Pierce City HighB− · 40% proficient
- Jasper Co. High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Mt. Vernon HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every La Russell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
La Russell 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 La Russell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in La Russell
Is La Russell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, La Russell ranks 33,045th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and low property taxes, and lowest on internet speeds and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is La Russell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,807. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $81,874 median income, cost of living beats 66% of towns.
Is La Russell safe?
La Russell is safer than 39% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $412 per resident a year.
Compare La Russell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to La Russell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in La Russell 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.
La Russell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for La Russell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in La Russell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of La Russell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in La Russell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
La Russell 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.