Best PlacesRandolph County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Randolph 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.
Randolph County ranks 2,620th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Randolph 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.
Randolph County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Randolph County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$397 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of counties
- Short commute21.9 minutes each way, better than 66% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 66% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
Where Randolph County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 9% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Randolph County
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Randolph County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,379, 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 Randolph County's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Randolph County
Randolph 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 Randolph County.
Who works in Randolph County, and how
Work in Randolph County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Randolph County
Randolph County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Randolph County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Randolph County growing, and who is moving in?
Randolph County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Adair County, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Randolph County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Randolph County, month by month
Randolph County sees roughly 51 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Randolph County
The nearest airport, Columbia Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around Randolph County
Schools across Randolph County average a C, better than 40% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Westran Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Northeast Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Macon ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Macon Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Moberly MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Westran MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Northeast HighB · 50% proficient
- Macon Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
- Higbee HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Randolph County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Randolph 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 Randolph County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Randolph County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Randolph County
Is Randolph County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Randolph County ranks 2,620th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low disaster risk, and short commutes, and lowest on air quality and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Randolph County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,746. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $60,379 median income, cost of living beats 33% of counties.
Is Randolph County safe?
Randolph County is safer than 25% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $576 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Randolph County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 25. That works out to about 51 pleasant days a year, more than 1% of counties.
Is Randolph County good for families?
Schools beat 40% of counties, crime safety beats 25%, and childcare runs $397 a month.
Compare Randolph County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Randolph County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Randolph 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.
Randolph County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Randolph County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Randolph County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Randolph County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Randolph County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Randolph 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.