Best PlacesMerriam Woods, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Merriam Woods, 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.
Merriam Woods ranks 40,749th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Merriam Woods
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.
Merriam Woods' strengths and weaknesses
Where Merriam Woods ranks high
- Cheap childcare$414 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 73% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 70% of towns
Where Merriam Woods ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 13% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of towns
- Household income$53,008 median, better than only 16% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Merriam Woods
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Merriam Woods home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,008, 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 Merriam Woods' effective rate of 0.56%, 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 Merriam Woods
Merriam Woods'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 Merriam Woods.
Who works in Merriam Woods, and how
Work in Merriam Woods centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Merriam Woods
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Merriam Woods.
What the weather is like in Merriam Woods, month by month
Merriam Woods sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Merriam Woods
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 197 miles away.
The best schools in and around Merriam Woods
Schools across Merriam Woods average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Buchanan ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Forsyth Elem.B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buchanan IntermediateB+ · 50% proficient
- Forsyth MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Branson HighB− · 45% proficient
- Forsyth HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Merriam Woods school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Merriam Woods 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 Merriam Woods against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Merriam Woods
Is Merriam Woods a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Merriam Woods ranks 40,749th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, cell coverage, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Merriam Woods expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $122,523. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $53,008 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is Merriam Woods safe?
Yes, Merriam Woods is safer than 58% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
Compare Merriam Woods with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Merriam Woods. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Merriam Woods 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.
Merriam Woods detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Merriam Woods: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Merriam Woods: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Merriam Woods: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Merriam Woods: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Merriam Woods 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.