Best PlacesRichards, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Richards, 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.
Richards ranks 40,077th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Richards
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.
Richards' strengths and weaknesses
Where Richards ranks high
- Cheap childcare$407 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Short commute21.6 minutes each way, better than 82% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 68% of towns
Where Richards ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Household income$56,370 median, better than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Richards
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Richards home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,370, 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 Richards' effective rate of 0.62%, 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 Richards
Richards'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 Richards.
Who works in Richards, and how
Work in Richards centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Richards
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Richards.
What the weather is like in Richards, month by month
Richards sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Richards
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 95 miles away.
The best schools in and around Richards
Schools across Richards average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hume Elem.C− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nevada MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Nevada HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Hume HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Richards school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Richards 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 Richards against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Richards
Is Richards a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Richards ranks 40,077th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on health outcomes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Richards expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,305. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $56,370 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Richards safe?
Richards is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $449 per resident a year.
Compare Richards with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Richards. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Richards 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.
Richards detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Richards: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Richards: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Richards: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Richards: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Richards 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.