Best PlacesLaclede County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Laclede 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.
Laclede County ranks 2,629th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Laclede 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.
Laclede County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Laclede County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$385 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 81% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 74% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 71% of counties
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 70% of counties
Where Laclede County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of counties
- Household income$55,935 median, better than only 18% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Laclede County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Laclede County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,935, 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 Laclede County's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Laclede County
Laclede 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 Laclede County.
Who works in Laclede County, and how
Work in Laclede County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Laclede County
Laclede County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Laclede County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Laclede County growing, and who is moving in?
Laclede County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Springfield, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Laclede County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Laclede County, month by month
Laclede County sees roughly 62 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, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Laclede County
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around Laclede County
Schools across Laclede County average a C, better than 28% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Skyline Elem.A+ · 80% proficient
- Manes R-v School DistrictA− · 62% proficient
- Ezard Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skyline MiddleA− · 57% proficient
- Lebanon Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Buffalo MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Skyline HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Richland HighC · 33% proficient
- Plato HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Laclede County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Laclede 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 Laclede County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Laclede County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Laclede County
Is Laclede County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Laclede County ranks 2,629th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and few empty homes, and lowest on the weather 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 Laclede County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,410. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $55,935 median income, cost of living beats 15% of counties.
Is Laclede County safe?
Laclede County is safer than 44% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $426 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Laclede County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 27. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 9% of counties.
Is Laclede County good for families?
Schools beat 28% of counties, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $385 a month.
Compare Laclede County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Laclede County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Laclede 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.
Laclede County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Laclede County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Laclede County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Laclede County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Laclede County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Laclede 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.