Best PlacesPettis County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pettis 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.
Pettis County ranks 1,305th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pettis 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.
Pettis County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pettis County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$430 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 85% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 80% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 79% of counties
Where Pettis County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 23% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 28% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pettis County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pettis County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,581, 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 Pettis County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Pettis County
Pettis County'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 Pettis County.
Who works in Pettis County, and how
Work in Pettis County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Pettis County
Pettis County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 87% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pettis County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pettis County growing, and who is moving in?
Pettis County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kansas City, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pettis County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pettis County, month by month
Pettis County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Pettis County
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 89 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pettis County
Schools across Pettis County average a B−, better than 64% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mathews Elem.A · 71% proficient
- Parkview Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Horace Mann Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nicholas A. Inman IntermediateA · 61% proficient
- Knob Noster MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Sedalia Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Nixa HighA · 70% proficient
- Knob Noster HighB · 50% proficient
- Smith-cotton High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pettis County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pettis 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 Pettis County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pettis County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Pettis County
Is Pettis County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pettis County ranks 1,305th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and a strong job market, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pettis County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $186,177. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $65,581 median income, cost of living beats 61% of counties.
Is Pettis County safe?
Yes, Pettis County is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $366 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pettis County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 24. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of counties.
Is Pettis County good for families?
Schools beat 64% of counties, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $430 a month.
Compare Pettis County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pettis County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pettis 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.
Pettis County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pettis County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pettis County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pettis County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pettis County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pettis 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.