Best PlacesTightwad, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Tightwad, 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.
Tightwad ranks 27,066th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Tightwad
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.
Tightwad's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tightwad ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- Cheap childcare$416 a month, better than 98% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Tightwad ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 21% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Tightwad
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tightwad home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,750, 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 Tightwad's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Tightwad
Tightwad 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 Tightwad.
Who works in Tightwad, and how
Work in Tightwad centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Tightwad
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Tightwad.
What the weather is like in Tightwad, month by month
Tightwad sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Tightwad
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tightwad
Schools across Tightwad average a D+, better than 10% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Lakeland Elem.C · 33% proficient
- Leesville Elem.D · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Windsor HighC− · 30% proficient
- Lakeland HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tightwad school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tightwad 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 Tightwad against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Tightwad
Is Tightwad a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tightwad ranks 27,066th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, affordable childcare, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tightwad expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,400. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $63,750 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is Tightwad safe?
Yes, Tightwad is safer than 76% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $269 per resident a year.
Compare Tightwad with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tightwad. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tightwad 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.
Tightwad detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tightwad: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tightwad: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tightwad: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tightwad: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tightwad 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.