Best PlacesScammon, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Scammon, 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.
Scammon ranks 39,765th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Scammon
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.
Scammon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Scammon ranks high
- Cheap childcare$467 a month, better than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 95% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 75% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 70% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 68% of towns
Where Scammon ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 23% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Scammon
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Scammon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,166, 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 Scammon's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Scammon
Scammon'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 Scammon.
Who works in Scammon, and how
Work in Scammon 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 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Scammon
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Scammon.
What the weather is like in Scammon, month by month
Scammon sees roughly 91 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 Scammon
The nearest airport, Joplin Regional, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 140 miles away.
The best schools in and around Scammon
Schools across Scammon average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Southeast Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central ElemC · 35% proficient
- Southeast Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Columbus Junior High And High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Southeast HighD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Scammon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Scammon 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 Scammon against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Scammon
Is Scammon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Scammon ranks 39,765th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state infrastructure, and an educated workforce, and lowest on air quality and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Scammon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $88,226. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $58,166 median income, cost of living beats 39% of towns.
Is Scammon safe?
Scammon is safer than 31% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
Compare Scammon with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Scammon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Scammon 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.
Scammon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Scammon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Scammon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Scammon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Scammon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Scammon 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.