Best PlacesNeosho County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Neosho 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.
Neosho County ranks 1,791st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Neosho 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.
Neosho County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Neosho County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of counties
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Short commute16.2 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 81% of counties
Where Neosho County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Neosho County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Neosho County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,145, 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 Neosho County's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Neosho County
Neosho County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Neosho County.
Who works in Neosho County, and how
Work in Neosho County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Neosho County
Neosho County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 84% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Neosho County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Neosho County growing, and who is moving in?
Neosho County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Allen County, KS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Neosho County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Neosho County, month by month
Neosho County sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Neosho County
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around Neosho County
Schools across Neosho County average a C−, better than 23% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- St. Paul Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- R V Haderlein ElemB+ · 51% proficient
- Southeast Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Paul Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Girard MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Royster Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Girard HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Chanute HighC− · 28% proficient
- Erie High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Neosho County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Neosho 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 Neosho County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Neosho County
Is Neosho County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Neosho County ranks 1,791st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on property taxes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Neosho County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $120,622. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $59,145 median income, cost of living beats 39% of counties.
Is Neosho County safe?
Yes, Neosho County is safer than 59% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
Compare Neosho County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Neosho County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Neosho 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.
Neosho County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Neosho County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Neosho County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Neosho County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Neosho County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Neosho 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.