Best PlacesMelbourne, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Melbourne, 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.
Melbourne ranks 35,266th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Melbourne
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.
Melbourne's strengths and weaknesses
Where Melbourne ranks high
- Cheap childcare$402 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 65% of towns
- Short commute25.1 minutes each way, better than 62% of towns
Where Melbourne ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 7% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- School gradeC−, better than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Melbourne
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Melbourne home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,486, 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 Melbourne's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Melbourne
Melbourne'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 Melbourne.
Who works in Melbourne, and how
Work in Melbourne centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Melbourne
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Melbourne.
What the weather is like in Melbourne, month by month
Melbourne sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Melbourne
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Melbourne
Schools across Melbourne average a C−, better than 19% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rissler Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- Gilman City Elem.C · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Trenton MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Trenton Sr. HighC · 34% proficient
- Gilman City HighD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Melbourne school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Melbourne 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 Melbourne against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Melbourne
Is Melbourne a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Melbourne ranks 35,266th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and state finances, and lowest on biking and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Melbourne expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,247. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $62,486 median income, cost of living beats 39% of towns.
Is Melbourne safe?
Melbourne is safer than 34% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
Compare Melbourne with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Melbourne. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Melbourne 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.
Melbourne detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Melbourne: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Melbourne: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Melbourne: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Melbourne: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Melbourne 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.