Best PlacesScotland County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Scotland 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.
Scotland County ranks 2,341st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Scotland 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.
Scotland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Scotland County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$436 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 84% of counties
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of counties
Where Scotland County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 13% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Scotland County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Scotland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,819, 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 Scotland County's effective rate of 0.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Scotland County
Scotland County 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 Scotland County.
Who works in Scotland County, and how
Work in Scotland County centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Scotland County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Scotland County.
Is Scotland County growing, and who is moving in?
Scotland County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wapello County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Scotland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Scotland County, month by month
Scotland County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Scotland County
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 151 miles away.
The best schools in and around Scotland County
Schools across Scotland County average a C+, better than 48% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Knox Co. Elem.C+ · 37% proficient
- Schuyler Co. Elem.C · 32% proficient
- Scotland Co. Elem.C− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Scotland Co. HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Schuyler Co. HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Scotland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Scotland 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 Scotland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Scotland County
Is Scotland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Scotland County ranks 2,341st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, civic engagement, and a strong job market, and lowest on education levels and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Scotland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $166,186. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $69,819 median income, cost of living beats 63% of counties.
Is Scotland County safe?
Scotland County is safer than 21% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $573 per resident a year.
Compare Scotland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Scotland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Scotland 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.
Scotland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Scotland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Scotland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Scotland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Scotland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Scotland 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.