Best PlacesMcDonald County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McDonald County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McDonald County ranks 2,874th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McDonald 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.
The best areas in McDonald County
The parts of McDonald County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Anderson
Fewer homes sit empty and advertised internet is faster.
Noel
Fewer residents vote and fewer adults hold degrees.
Goodman
Scores across McDonald County run from about the 4th to the 27th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
McDonald County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McDonald County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$369 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 52% of counties
Where McDonald County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McDonald County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDonald County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,429, 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 McDonald County's effective rate of 0.36%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McDonald County
McDonald 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 McDonald County.
Who works in McDonald County, and how
Work in McDonald County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in McDonald County
McDonald County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of McDonald County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McDonald County growing, and who is moving in?
McDonald County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fayetteville, AR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McDonald County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McDonald County, month by month
McDonald County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of McDonald County
The nearest airport, Northwest Arkansas Ntl, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 186 miles away.
The best schools in and around McDonald County
Schools across McDonald County average a C+, better than 48% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Rocky Comfort Elem.A− · 58% proficient
- Anderson Elem.B+ · 51% proficient
- Goodman Elem.B− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Seneca Intermediate SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Neosho Jr. HighB− · 42% proficient
- Anderson MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- East Newton HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Mcdonald County HighC · 32% proficient
- Neosho HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDonald County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDonald 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 McDonald County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McDonald County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in McDonald County
Is McDonald County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDonald County ranks 2,874th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and tree cover, and lowest on internet speeds and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McDonald County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,559. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $53,429 median income, cost of living beats 8% of counties.
Is McDonald County safe?
McDonald County is safer than 25% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $494 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McDonald County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 28. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McDonald County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Anderson, Noel, and Goodman. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare McDonald County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDonald County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDonald 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.
McDonald County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDonald County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDonald County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDonald County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDonald County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDonald 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.