Best PlacesNeutral, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Neutral, 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.
Neutral ranks 28,246th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Neutral
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.
Neutral's strengths and weaknesses
Where Neutral ranks high
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 95% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 78% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 73% of towns
Where Neutral ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 17% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Neutral
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Neutral home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,525, 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 Neutral's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 Neutral
Neutral runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Neutral.
Who works in Neutral, and how
Work in Neutral centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Neutral
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Neutral.
What the weather is like in Neutral, month by month
Neutral sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Neutral
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around Neutral
Schools across Neutral average a C−, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Riverton ElemC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central ElemC · 35% proficient
- Riverton MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Baxter Springs HighC− · 29% proficient
- Columbus Junior High And High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Riverton HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Neutral school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Neutral 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 Neutral against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Neutral
Is Neutral a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Neutral ranks 28,246th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state infrastructure, and fast internet, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Neutral expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,370. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $72,525 median income, cost of living beats 73% of towns.
Is Neutral safe?
Neutral is safer than 47% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $331 per resident a year.
Compare Neutral with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Neutral. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Neutral 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.
Neutral detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Neutral: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Neutral: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Neutral: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Neutral: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Neutral 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.