Best PlacesParker Lake, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Parker Lake, 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.
Parker Lake ranks 29,918th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Parker Lake
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.
Parker Lake's strengths and weaknesses
Where Parker Lake ranks high
- Cheap childcare$451 a month, better than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 72% of towns
Where Parker Lake ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Parker Lake
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Parker Lake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,172, 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 Parker Lake's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Parker Lake
Parker Lake'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 Parker Lake.
Who works in Parker Lake, and how
Work in Parker Lake centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Parker Lake
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Parker Lake.
What the weather is like in Parker Lake, month by month
Parker Lake sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Parker Lake
The nearest airport, Cape Girardeau Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around Parker Lake
Schools across Parker Lake average a C+, better than 49% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ste. Genevieve Elem.B · 46% proficient
- Roosevelt Elem.C+ · 38% proficient
- Perryville Elem.C · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ste. Genevieve MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Lincoln IntermediateB · 45% proficient
- Perry Co. MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Farmington Sr. HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Perryville Sr. HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Ste. Genevieve Sr. HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Parker Lake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Parker Lake 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 Parker Lake against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Parker Lake
Is Parker Lake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Parker Lake ranks 29,918th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and low crime, and lowest on the weather and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Parker Lake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,111. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $74,172 median income, cost of living beats 67% of towns.
Is Parker Lake safe?
Yes, Parker Lake is safer than 81% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $254 per resident a year.
Compare Parker Lake with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Parker Lake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Parker Lake 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.
Parker Lake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Parker Lake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Parker Lake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Parker Lake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Parker Lake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Parker Lake 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.