Best PlacesSmallett, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smallett, 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.
Smallett ranks 45,519th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smallett
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.
Smallett's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smallett ranks high
- Cheap childcare$377 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
- QuietBetter than 66% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 64% of towns
Where Smallett ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$45,079 median, better than only 7% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smallett
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smallett home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,079, 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 Smallett's effective rate of 0.35%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Smallett
Smallett'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 Smallett.
Who works in Smallett, and how
Work in Smallett centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Smallett
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smallett.
What the weather is like in Smallett, month by month
Smallett sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Smallett
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 183 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smallett
Schools across Smallett average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Thornfield Elem.A− · 58% proficient
- Ava Elem.B− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ava MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Gainesville HighB− · 45% proficient
- Ava HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smallett school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smallett 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 Smallett against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smallett
Is Smallett a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smallett ranks 45,519th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smallett expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,639. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $45,079 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Smallett safe?
Smallett is safer than 31% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $451 per resident a year.
Compare Smallett with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smallett. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smallett 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.
Smallett detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smallett: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smallett: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smallett: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smallett: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smallett 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.