Best PlacesNorthwye, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northwye, 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.
Northwye ranks 35,230th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Northwye
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.
Northwye's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northwye ranks high
- Cheap childcare$407 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Short commute15.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 89% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
Where Northwye ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 15% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Northwye
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northwye home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,878; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Northwye's effective rate of 0.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Northwye
Northwye's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Northwye.
Who works in Northwye, and how
Work in Northwye centers on hospitality & food and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in Northwye
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Northwye.
What the weather is like in Northwye, month by month
Northwye sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Northwye
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Northwye
Schools across Northwye average a B−, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lucy Wortham James Elem.B+ · 50% proficient
- Harry S. Truman Elem.B− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rolla MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- St. James MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- St. James HighB · 50% proficient
- Rolla Sr. HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northwye school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northwye 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 Northwye against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Northwye
Is Northwye a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northwye ranks 35,230th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and a strong job market, and lowest on crime and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northwye expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,671. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $63,878 median income, cost of living beats 36% of towns.
Is Northwye safe?
Northwye is safer than 5% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $747 per resident a year.
Compare Northwye with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northwye. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northwye 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.
Northwye detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northwye: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northwye: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northwye: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northwye: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northwye 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.