Best PlacesNodaway County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Nodaway County, 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.
Nodaway County ranks 1,606th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nodaway 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.
Nodaway County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nodaway County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$411 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 84% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 72% of counties
Where Nodaway County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 30% of counties
- Household income$61,505 median, better than only 30% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 30% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 30% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Nodaway County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nodaway County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,505, 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 Nodaway County's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Nodaway County
Nodaway 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 Nodaway County.
Who works in Nodaway County, and how
Work in Nodaway County centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Nodaway County
Nodaway County has more parkland per resident than 67% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Nodaway County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Nodaway County growing, and who is moving in?
Nodaway County has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kansas City, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Nodaway County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Nodaway County, month by month
Nodaway County sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Nodaway County
Kansas City International sits about 73 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.7 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Nodaway County
Schools across Nodaway County average a B, better than 72% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Jefferson Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Eugene Field Elem.B · 48% proficient
- South Nodaway Elem.B · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maryville MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Maryville HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Stanberry HighB+ · 52% proficient
- South Page Senior High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nodaway County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nodaway 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 Nodaway County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Nodaway County suits
Common questions about living in Nodaway County
Is Nodaway County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nodaway County ranks 1,606th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on internet speeds and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nodaway County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,024. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,505 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Nodaway County safe?
Nodaway County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $478 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Nodaway County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 21. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of counties.
Is Nodaway County good for families?
Schools beat 72% of counties, crime safety beats 30%, and childcare runs $411 a month.
Compare Nodaway County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nodaway County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nodaway 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.
Nodaway County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nodaway County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nodaway County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nodaway County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nodaway County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nodaway 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.