Best PlacesMcDougal, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McDougal, 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.
McDougal ranks 42,436th 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 McDougal
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.
McDougal's strengths and weaknesses
Where McDougal ranks high
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 85% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 72% of towns
Where McDougal ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McDougal
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDougal home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,000, 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 McDougal's effective rate of 0.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in McDougal
McDougal runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McDougal.
Who works in McDougal, and how
Work in McDougal centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McDougal
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McDougal.
What the weather is like in McDougal, month by month
McDougal sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of McDougal
The nearest airport, Cape Girardeau Regional, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around McDougal
Schools across McDougal average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Park Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Piggott Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Rector Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Corning Middle SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Neelyville HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Rector High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Piggott High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDougal school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDougal 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 McDougal against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McDougal
Is McDougal a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDougal ranks 42,436th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and state finances, and lowest on the weather and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McDougal expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $126,100. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $60,000 median income, cost of living beats 41% of towns.
Is McDougal safe?
McDougal is safer than 21% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $633 per resident a year.
Compare McDougal with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDougal. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDougal 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.
McDougal detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDougal: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDougal: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDougal: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDougal: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDougal 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.