Best PlacesSullivan County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sullivan 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.
Sullivan County ranks 2,368th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Sullivan 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.
Sullivan County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sullivan County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$408 a month, better than 98% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of counties
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 81% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 120 pleasant days a year, better than 75% of counties
Where Sullivan County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of counties
- Household income$56,621 median, better than only 19% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sullivan County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sullivan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,621, 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 Sullivan County's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sullivan County
Sullivan County runs older 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 Sullivan County.
Who works in Sullivan County, and how
Work in Sullivan County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Sullivan County
Sullivan County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Sullivan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sullivan County growing, and who is moving in?
Sullivan County has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Des Moines County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sullivan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sullivan County, month by month
Sullivan County sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 27° | 20° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Sullivan County
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sullivan County
Schools across Sullivan County average a C, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Laredo Elem.A− · 58% proficient
- Putnam Co. Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Green City Elem.C · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Putnam Co. MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Putnam Co. HighA− · 60% proficient
- Green City HighB− · 45% proficient
- Newtown-harris HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sullivan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sullivan 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 Sullivan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sullivan County
Is Sullivan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sullivan County ranks 2,368th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sullivan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $130,497. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $56,621 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Sullivan County safe?
Sullivan County is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $612 per resident a year.
Compare Sullivan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sullivan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sullivan 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.
Sullivan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sullivan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sullivan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sullivan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sullivan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sullivan 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.