Best PlacesPark Forest, Kansas City, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Park Forest, Kansas City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Park Forest, Kansas City ranks 1,789th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Park Forest, Kansas City
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.
Park Forest, Kansas City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Park Forest, Kansas City ranks high
- Cheap childcare$605 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Park Forest, Kansas City ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Park Forest, Kansas City
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Park Forest, Kansas City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $108,763, 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 Park Forest, Kansas City's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Park Forest, Kansas City
Park Forest, Kansas City's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Park Forest, Kansas City.
Who works in Park Forest, Kansas City, and how
Work in Park Forest, Kansas City centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 0%
Life in Park Forest, Kansas City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Park Forest, Kansas City.
What the weather is like in Park Forest, Kansas City, month by month
Park Forest, Kansas City sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 58° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Park Forest, Kansas City
Kansas City International sits about 5 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 Park Forest, Kansas City
Schools across Park Forest, Kansas City average a B+, better than 83% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Hawthorn Elem.A · 65% proficient
- Prairie Point Elem.B+ · 51% proficient
- Alfred L. Renner Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Congress MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Park Hill HighA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Park Forest, Kansas City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Park Forest, Kansas City 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 Park Forest, Kansas City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Park Forest, Kansas City
Is Park Forest, Kansas City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Park Forest, Kansas City ranks 1,789th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Park Forest, Kansas City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $302,200. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $108,763 median income, cost of living beats 85% of neighborhoods.
Is Park Forest, Kansas City safe?
Yes, Park Forest, Kansas City is safer than 83% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $337 per resident a year.
Compare Park Forest, Kansas City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Park Forest, Kansas City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Park Forest, Kansas City 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.
Park Forest, Kansas City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Park Forest, Kansas City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Park Forest, Kansas City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Park Forest, Kansas City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Park Forest, Kansas City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Park Forest, Kansas City 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.