Best PlacesPlatte County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Platte County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Platte County ranks 217th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $107,364, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, car insurance costs, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Platte 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.
The best areas in Platte County
The parts of Platte County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Parkville & Weatherby Lake
Tree cover is thicker, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Kansas City
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Platte City & Weston
More households have young kids, though advertised internet is slower.
Scores across Platte County run from about the 17th to the 98th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Platte County's strengths and weaknesses
Platte County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys is the standout, in the top 3% of counties. Fast internet and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. Car insurance costs and taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Platte County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$107,364 median, better than 95% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
Where Platte County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 20% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Platte County
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Platte County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $107,364, 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 Platte County's effective rate of 1.05%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Platte County
Platte 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 Platte County.
Who works in Platte County, and how
Work in Platte County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Platte County
Platte County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 87% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Platte County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Platte County growing, and who is moving in?
Platte County has grown about 19% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Kansas City, MO metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Platte County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Platte County, month by month
Platte County sees roughly 88 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 Platte County
Kansas City International sits about 3 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 Platte County
Schools across Platte County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Horizon ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Hawthorn Elem.A · 65% proficient
- Graden Elem.A− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Platte City MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Patton Jr HighA− · 53% proficient
- Smithville MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Park Hill South HighA− · 67% proficient
- Park Hill HighA− · 64% proficient
- Staley HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Platte County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Platte 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 Platte County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Platte County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Platte County
Is Platte County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Platte County ranks 217th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, fast internet, 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 Platte County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $357,595. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $107,364 median income, cost of living beats 97% of counties.
Is Platte County safe?
Yes, Platte County is safer than 61% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Platte County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 20. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 50% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Platte County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Parkville & Weatherby Lake, Kansas City, and Platte City & Weston. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Platte County good for families?
Schools beat 83% of counties, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $605 a month.
Is Platte County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 96% of counties. About 19% of workers already work from home.
Compare Platte County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Platte County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Platte 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.
Platte County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Platte County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Platte County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Platte County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Platte County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Platte 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.