Best PlacesMorgan County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Morgan County, 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.
Morgan County ranks 2,628th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Morgan 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.
Morgan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Morgan County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$383 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 83% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 70% of counties
Where Morgan County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Morgan County
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Morgan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,892, 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 Morgan County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Morgan County
Morgan County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Morgan County.
Who works in Morgan County, and how
Work in Morgan County centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Morgan County
Morgan County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Morgan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Morgan County growing, and who is moving in?
Morgan County has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Jefferson City, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Morgan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Morgan County, month by month
Morgan County sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Morgan County
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around Morgan County
Schools across Morgan County average a C+, better than 42% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Eldon Upper Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Latham Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Osage Upper Elem.B− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Osage MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Morgan Co. MiddleC · 32% proficient
- Tipton Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Eldon HighB · 48% proficient
- Osage HighB− · 45% proficient
- Morgan Co. R-i HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Morgan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Morgan 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 Morgan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Morgan County suits
Common questions about living in Morgan County
Is Morgan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Morgan County ranks 2,628th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on education levels and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Morgan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,478. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $55,892 median income, cost of living beats 16% of counties.
Is Morgan County safe?
Morgan County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $397 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Morgan County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 25. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of counties.
Is Morgan County good for families?
Schools beat 42% of counties, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $383 a month.
Compare Morgan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Morgan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Morgan 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.
Morgan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Morgan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Morgan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Morgan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Morgan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Morgan 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.