Best PlacesSouthern Hills, Springfield, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southern Hills, Springfield, 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.
Southern Hills, Springfield ranks 3,606th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods 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 Southern Hills, Springfield
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.
Southern Hills, Springfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Southern Hills, Springfield ranks high
- Cheap childcare$664 a month, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.2 minutes each way, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
Where Southern Hills, Springfield ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southern Hills, Springfield
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southern Hills, Springfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,431, 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 Southern Hills, Springfield's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southern Hills, Springfield
Southern Hills, Springfield's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Southern Hills, Springfield.
Who works in Southern Hills, Springfield, and how
Work in Southern Hills, Springfield 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 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Southern Hills, Springfield
Southern Hills, Springfield has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Southern Hills, Springfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southern Hills, Springfield, month by month
Southern Hills, Springfield sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 34° | 23° |
| April | 71° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Southern Hills, Springfield
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around Southern Hills, Springfield
Schools across Southern Hills, Springfield average a C+, better than 56% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Sequiota Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Wilder Elem.B− · 40% proficient
- Pershing Elem.C− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pershing MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Glendale HighC · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southern Hills, Springfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southern Hills, Springfield 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 Southern Hills, Springfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southern Hills, Springfield
Is Southern Hills, Springfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southern Hills, Springfield ranks 3,606th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on distance from a big city and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southern Hills, Springfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $247,082. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $68,431 median income, cost of living beats 60% of neighborhoods.
Is Southern Hills, Springfield safe?
Yes, Southern Hills, Springfield is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $435 per resident a year.
Compare Southern Hills, Springfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southern Hills, Springfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southern Hills, Springfield 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.
Southern Hills, Springfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southern Hills, Springfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southern Hills, Springfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southern Hills, Springfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southern Hills, Springfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southern Hills, Springfield 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.