Best PlacesMcNeil, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McNeil, 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.
McNeil ranks 43,218th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McNeil
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.
McNeil's strengths and weaknesses
Where McNeil ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Cheap childcare$481 a month, better than 94% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 86% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
Where McNeil ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$49,463 median, better than only 12% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McNeil
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McNeil home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,463, 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 McNeil's effective rate of 0.40%, 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 McNeil
McNeil 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 McNeil.
Who works in McNeil, and how
Work in McNeil centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in McNeil
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McNeil.
What the weather is like in McNeil, month by month
McNeil sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of McNeil
The nearest airport, South Arkansas Regional at Goodwin Field, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 214 miles away.
The best schools in and around McNeil
Schools across McNeil average a C−, better than 21% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Nevada Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Magnolia Jr. High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Camden Fairview Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Magnolia High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Nevada High SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Camden Fairview High SchoolD− · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McNeil school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McNeil 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 McNeil against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McNeil
Is McNeil a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McNeil ranks 43,218th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McNeil expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $99,883. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $49,463 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is McNeil safe?
McNeil is safer than 16% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $715 per resident a year.
Compare McNeil with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McNeil. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McNeil 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.
McNeil detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McNeil: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McNeil: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McNeil: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McNeil: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McNeil 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.