Best PlacesNew Madrid County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in New Madrid County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
New Madrid County ranks 2,926th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in New Madrid 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.
The best areas in New Madrid County
The parts of New Madrid County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Sikeston
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and fewer homes sit empty.
New Madrid
More households have young kids and biking is better.
Portageville
Crime runs higher and prices have run up more.
Scores across New Madrid County run from about the 2nd to the 41st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
New Madrid County's strengths and weaknesses
Where New Madrid County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$356 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of counties
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 70% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 68% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 65% of counties
Where New Madrid County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 12% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in New Madrid County
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New Madrid County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,037, 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 New Madrid County's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in New Madrid County
New Madrid 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 New Madrid County.
Who works in New Madrid County, and how
Work in New Madrid County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in New Madrid County
New Madrid County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of New Madrid County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is New Madrid County growing, and who is moving in?
New Madrid County has lost about 17% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Scott County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving New Madrid County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in New Madrid County, month by month
New Madrid County sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 37° | 30° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 51° |
Flying in and out of New Madrid County
The nearest airport, Cape Girardeau Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around New Madrid County
Schools across New Madrid County average a C−, better than 24% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Matthews ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Portageville Elem.B− · 42% proficient
- Lee Hunter Elem.B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sikeston Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Sikeston Junior High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Central Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Sikeston Senior High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Portageville HighC+ · 36% proficient
- Risco HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New Madrid County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New Madrid 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 New Madrid County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in New Madrid County
Is New Madrid County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New Madrid County ranks 2,926th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and short commutes, and lowest on disaster risk and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is New Madrid County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $124,794. The overall cost of living runs about 27% below the national average. Set against a $55,037 median income, cost of living beats 40% of counties.
Is New Madrid County safe?
New Madrid County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $704 per resident a year.
Compare New Madrid County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New Madrid County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New Madrid 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.
New Madrid County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New Madrid County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New Madrid County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New Madrid County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New Madrid County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New Madrid 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.