Best PlacesManila, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Manila, 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.
Manila ranks 18,357th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Manila
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.
Manila's strengths and weaknesses
Where Manila ranks high
- Cheap childcare$430 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 81% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 79% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
Where Manila ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 23% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Manila
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Manila home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,915, 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 Manila's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Manila
Manila runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Manila.
Who works in Manila, and how
Work in Manila centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Manila
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Manila.
What the weather is like in Manila, month by month
Manila sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Manila
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around Manila
Schools across Manila average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Skyline Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Green Ridge Elem.B · 47% proficient
- Cole Camp Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sedalia Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Smith-cotton High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Cole Camp HighB− · 43% proficient
- Green Ridge HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Manila school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Manila 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 Manila against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Manila
Is Manila a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Manila ranks 18,357th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, what local pay buys, and a strong job market, and lowest on air quality and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Manila expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,780. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $82,915 median income, cost of living beats 85% of towns.
Is Manila safe?
Yes, Manila is safer than 56% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $331 per resident a year.
Compare Manila with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Manila. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Manila 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.
Manila detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Manila: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Manila: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Manila: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Manila: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Manila 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.