Best PlacesOak Grove, Springfield, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oak Grove, Springfield, 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.
Oak Grove, Springfield ranks 4,548th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oak Grove, Springfield
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.
Oak Grove, Springfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oak Grove, Springfield ranks high
- Cheap childcare$664 a month, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 65% of neighborhoods
Where Oak Grove, Springfield ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Household income$53,704 median, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Oak Grove, Springfield
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oak Grove, Springfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,704, 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 Oak Grove, Springfield's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oak Grove, Springfield
Oak Grove, Springfield runs younger than the country, 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 Oak Grove, Springfield.
Who works in Oak Grove, Springfield, and how
Work in Oak Grove, Springfield centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Oak Grove, Springfield
Oak Grove, Springfield has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Oak Grove, Springfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oak Grove, Springfield, month by month
Oak Grove, Springfield sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 23° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Oak Grove, Springfield
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around Oak Grove, Springfield
Schools across Oak Grove, Springfield average a C, better than 38% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Delaware Elem.C− · 30% proficient
- Pittman Elem.C− · 30% proficient
- Bingham Elem.C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pershing MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Hickory Hills MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Jarrett MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Glendale HighC · 35% proficient
- Parkview HighD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oak Grove, Springfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oak Grove, Springfield 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 Oak Grove, Springfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Oak Grove, Springfield
Is Oak Grove, Springfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oak Grove, Springfield ranks 4,548th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on distance from a big city and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oak Grove, Springfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,487. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $53,704 median income, cost of living beats 35% of neighborhoods.
Is Oak Grove, Springfield safe?
Oak Grove, Springfield is safer than 52% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $546 per resident a year.
Compare Oak Grove, Springfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oak Grove, Springfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oak Grove, Springfield 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.
Oak Grove, Springfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oak Grove, Springfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oak Grove, Springfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oak Grove, Springfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oak Grove, Springfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oak Grove, Springfield 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.