Best PlacesSouth Fork, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Fork, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Fork ranks 29,669th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Fork
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.
South Fork's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Fork ranks high
- Cheap childcare$369 a month, better than 99% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 73% of towns
Where South Fork ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Fork
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Fork home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,379, 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 South Fork's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 South Fork
South Fork 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 South Fork.
Who works in South Fork, and how
Work in South Fork centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in South Fork
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Fork.
What the weather is like in South Fork, month by month
South Fork 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 South Fork
The nearest airport, Branson, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Fork
Schools across South Fork average a B−, better than 54% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Fork Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Fairview Elem.B · 46% proficient
- Glenwood Elem.C− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Plains MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- West Plains Sr. HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Fork school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Fork 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 South Fork against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Fork
Is South Fork a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Fork ranks 29,669th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, clean air, and low property taxes, and lowest on distance from a big city and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Fork expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $259,481. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $64,379 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is South Fork safe?
Yes, South Fork is safer than 61% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare South Fork with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Fork. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Fork 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.
South Fork detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Fork: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Fork: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Fork: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Fork: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Fork 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.