Best PlacesRuskin Heights, Kansas City, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ruskin Heights, Kansas City, 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.
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City ranks 5,832nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
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.
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ruskin Heights, Kansas City ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$840 a month, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Ruskin Heights, Kansas City ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ruskin Heights, Kansas City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,572, 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 Ruskin Heights, Kansas City's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ruskin Heights, Kansas City.
Who works in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City, and how
Work in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ruskin Heights, Kansas City.
What the weather is like in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City, month by month
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
Kansas City International sits about 28 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.7 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
Schools across Ruskin Heights, Kansas City average a D−, better than 7% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ervin Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Smith-hale MiddleF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Ruskin High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ruskin Heights, Kansas City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City 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 Ruskin Heights, Kansas City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City
Is Ruskin Heights, Kansas City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ruskin Heights, Kansas City ranks 5,832nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ruskin Heights, Kansas City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,758. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $48,572 median income, cost of living beats 18% of neighborhoods.
Is Ruskin Heights, Kansas City safe?
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $805 per resident a year.
Compare Ruskin Heights, Kansas City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ruskin Heights, Kansas City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City 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.
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ruskin Heights, Kansas City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ruskin Heights, Kansas City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ruskin Heights, Kansas City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ruskin Heights, Kansas City 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.