Best PlacesPulaski County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County ranks 2,165th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pulaski 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 Pulaski County
The parts of Pulaski 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.
St. Robert & Waynesville
Fewer homes sit empty, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Fort Leonard Wood & Success
Fewer residents vote and fewer households have young kids.
Crocker
Homes cost less, though health outcomes score lower.
Dixon
Commutes are longer and schools score lower.
Scores across Pulaski County run from about the 6th to the 63rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Pulaski County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pulaski County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$457 a month, better than 97% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of counties
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 81% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 72% of counties
Where Pulaski County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pulaski County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pulaski County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,543, 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 Pulaski County's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Pulaski County
Pulaski County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pulaski County.
Who works in Pulaski County, and how
Work in Pulaski County centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Pulaski County
Pulaski County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Pulaski County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pulaski County growing, and who is moving in?
Pulaski County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pulaski County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pulaski County, month by month
Pulaski County sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Pulaski County
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pulaski County
Schools across Pulaski County average a C+, better than 57% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Thayer Elem.A · 67% proficient
- Swedeborg Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Gasconade Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waynesville MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- 6th Grade CenterB · 44% proficient
- Dixon MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Waynesville Sr. HighB− · 45% proficient
- Richland HighC · 33% proficient
- Crocker HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pulaski County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pulaski 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 Pulaski County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pulaski County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Pulaski County
Is Pulaski County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pulaski County ranks 2,165th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, population health, and short commutes, and lowest on the weather and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pulaski County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,886. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $65,543 median income, cost of living beats 31% of counties.
Is Pulaski County safe?
Pulaski County is safer than 30% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $489 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pulaski County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pulaski County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are St. Robert & Waynesville, Fort Leonard Wood & Success, and Crocker. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Pulaski County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pulaski County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pulaski County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pulaski County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pulaski County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pulaski County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pulaski 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.