Best PlacesPoplar Bluff, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Poplar Bluff, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Poplar Bluff ranks 2,048th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Poplar Bluff
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.
Poplar Bluff's strengths and weaknesses
Where Poplar Bluff ranks high
- Cheap childcare$374 a month, better than 99% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of cities
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 91% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of cities
Where Poplar Bluff ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of cities
- Household income$50,773 median, better than only 1% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Poplar Bluff
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Poplar Bluff home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,773, 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 Poplar Bluff's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Poplar Bluff
Poplar Bluff'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 Poplar Bluff.
Who works in Poplar Bluff, and how
Work in Poplar Bluff centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Poplar Bluff
Poplar Bluff has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Poplar Bluff and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Poplar Bluff, month by month
Poplar Bluff sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Poplar Bluff
The nearest airport, Cape Girardeau Regional, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Poplar Bluff
Schools across Poplar Bluff average a C+, better than 36% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Eugene Field Elem.A · 65% proficient
- Oak Grove Elem.A · 63% proficient
- Lake Road Elem.B+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Poplar Bluff Jr. HighB− · 42% proficient
- East Carter Co. R-ii MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Qulin MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Neelyville HighC+ · 40% proficient
- East Carter Co. R-ii HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Poplar Bluff HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Poplar Bluff school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Poplar Bluff suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Poplar Bluff
Is Poplar Bluff a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Poplar Bluff ranks 2,048th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on health outcomes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Poplar Bluff expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,911. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $50,773 median income, cost of living beats 7% of cities.
Is Poplar Bluff safe?
Poplar Bluff is safer than 15% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $547 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Poplar Bluff?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 29. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of cities.
Is Poplar Bluff good for families?
Schools beat 36% of cities, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $374 a month.
Compare Poplar Bluff with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Poplar Bluff. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Poplar Bluff 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.
Poplar Bluff detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Poplar Bluff: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Poplar Bluff: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Poplar Bluff: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Poplar Bluff: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Poplar Bluff 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.