Best PlacesPhelps County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Phelps 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.
Phelps County ranks 1,781st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Phelps 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.
Phelps County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Phelps County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$407 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 82% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 81% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of counties
Where Phelps County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 18% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of counties
- Household income$60,742 median, better than only 28% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 28% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Phelps County
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Phelps County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,742, 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 Phelps County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Phelps County
Phelps County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Phelps County.
Who works in Phelps County, and how
Work in Phelps County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Phelps County
Phelps County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 84% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Phelps County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Phelps County growing, and who is moving in?
Phelps County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from St Louis, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Phelps County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Phelps County, month by month
Phelps County sees roughly 76 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 Phelps County
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Phelps County
Schools across Phelps County average a B−, better than 66% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mark Twain Elem.B+ · 55% proficient
- Lucy Wortham James Elem.B+ · 50% proficient
- Col. John B. Wyman Elem.B · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rolla MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Rolla Jr. HighB− · 41% proficient
- St. James MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- St. James HighB · 50% proficient
- Rolla Sr. HighB− · 43% proficient
- Licking HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Phelps County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Phelps 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 Phelps County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Phelps County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Phelps County
Is Phelps County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Phelps County ranks 1,781st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on noise and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Phelps County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,385. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $60,742 median income, cost of living beats 29% of counties.
Is Phelps County safe?
Phelps County is safer than 41% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $443 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Phelps County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 24. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of counties.
Is Phelps County good for families?
Schools beat 66% of counties, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $407 a month.
Compare Phelps County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Phelps County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Phelps 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.
Phelps County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Phelps County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Phelps County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Phelps County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Phelps County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Phelps 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.