Best PlacesSolo, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Solo, 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.
Solo ranks 45,153rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Solo
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.
Solo's strengths and weaknesses
Where Solo ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- Cheap childcare$349 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 73% of towns
Where Solo ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$37,237 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Short commute41.1 minutes each way, better than only 4% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Solo
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Solo home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $37,237; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Solo's effective rate of 0.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Solo
Solo runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Solo.
Who works in Solo, and how
Work in Solo centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Solo
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Solo.
What the weather is like in Solo, month by month
Solo sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Solo
The nearest airport, Waynesville-St Robert Regional Forney Field, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 135 miles away.
The best schools in and around Solo
Schools across Solo average a C−, better than 27% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Houston Elem.C · 34% proficient
- Cabool Elem.C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cabool MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- Houston MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Houston HighC · 32% proficient
- Cabool HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Solo school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Solo 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 Solo against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Solo
Is Solo a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Solo ranks 45,153rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and clean air, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Solo expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $152,100. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $37,237 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Solo safe?
Solo is safer than 42% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $385 per resident a year.
Compare Solo with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Solo. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Solo 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.
Solo detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Solo: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Solo: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Solo: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Solo: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Solo 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.