Best PlacesLebanon, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lebanon, 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.
Lebanon ranks 38,142nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lebanon
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.
Lebanon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lebanon ranks high
- Cheap childcare$385 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 91% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of towns
- BikingBetter than 81% of towns
Where Lebanon ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 17% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of towns
- Household income$55,590 median, better than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Lebanon
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lebanon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,590, 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 Lebanon's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Lebanon
Lebanon'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 Lebanon.
Who works in Lebanon, and how
Work in Lebanon 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 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Lebanon
Lebanon has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of towns and more parkland per resident than 84% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lebanon and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lebanon, month by month
Lebanon sees roughly 61 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 Lebanon
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lebanon
Schools across Lebanon average a C, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ezard Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Gasconade Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Plato Elem.B− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lebanon Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Buffalo MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Waynesville Sr. HighB− · 45% proficient
- Plato HighC− · 27% proficient
- Conway High SchoolsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lebanon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lebanon 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 Lebanon against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Lebanon suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Lebanon
Is Lebanon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lebanon ranks 38,142nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lebanon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,295. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $55,590 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Lebanon safe?
Lebanon is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $425 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lebanon?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 27. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of towns.
Is Lebanon good for families?
Schools beat 28% of towns, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $385 a month.
Compare Lebanon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lebanon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lebanon 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.
Lebanon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lebanon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lebanon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lebanon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lebanon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lebanon 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.