Best PlacesPutnam County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Putnam County, 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.
Putnam County ranks 2,037th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Putnam 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.
Putnam County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Putnam County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$394 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 89% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 83% of counties
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 82% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of counties
Where Putnam County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Putnam County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Putnam County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,851, 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 Putnam County's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 Putnam County
Putnam County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Putnam County.
Who works in Putnam County, and how
Work in Putnam County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Putnam County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Putnam County.
Is Putnam County growing, and who is moving in?
Putnam County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Des Moines, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Putnam County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Putnam County, month by month
Putnam County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Putnam County
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 123 miles away.
The best schools in and around Putnam County
Schools across Putnam County average a B, better than 77% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Putnam Co. Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Schuyler Co. Elem.C · 32% proficient
- Newtown-harris Elem.D+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Putnam Co. MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Putnam Co. HighA− · 60% proficient
- Schuyler Co. HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Newtown-harris HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Putnam County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Putnam 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 Putnam County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Putnam County
Is Putnam County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Putnam County ranks 2,037th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and health care access, and lowest on empty homes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Putnam County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,608. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $64,851 median income, cost of living beats 54% of counties.
Is Putnam County safe?
Putnam County is safer than 14% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $605 per resident a year.
Compare Putnam County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Putnam County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Putnam 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.
Putnam County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Putnam County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Putnam County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Putnam County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Putnam County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Putnam 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.