Best PlacesRacket, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Racket, 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.
Racket ranks 40,854th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Racket
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.
Racket's strengths and weaknesses
Where Racket ranks high
- Cheap childcare$394 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 93% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of towns
Where Racket ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- Short commute39.9 minutes each way, better than only 5% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Racket
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Racket home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,230, 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 Racket's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Racket
Racket runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Racket.
Who works in Racket, and how
Work in Racket centers on health care & social and construction. 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 Racket
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Racket.
What the weather is like in Racket, month by month
Racket sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Racket
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 72 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around Racket
Schools across Racket average a C−, better than 26% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elem.B · 48% proficient
- North ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- Leesville Elem.D · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- John Boise Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Warsaw High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Lakeland HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Racket school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Racket 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 Racket against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Racket
Is Racket a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Racket ranks 40,854th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on the weather and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Racket expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $191,505. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $56,230 median income, cost of living beats 25% of towns.
Is Racket safe?
Yes, Racket is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $348 per resident a year.
Compare Racket with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Racket. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Racket 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.
Racket detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Racket: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Racket: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Racket: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Racket: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Racket 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.