Best PlacesWestside Community Betterment, Springfield, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Westside Community Betterment, Springfield, 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.
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield ranks 5,490th 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 Westside Community Betterment, 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.
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westside Community Betterment, Springfield ranks high
- Cheap childcare$664 a month, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.4 minutes each way, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 69% of neighborhoods
Where Westside Community Betterment, Springfield ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Household income$43,206 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westside Community Betterment, Springfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,206, 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 Westside Community Betterment, Springfield's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield runs younger 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 Westside Community Betterment, Springfield.
Who works in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield, and how
Work in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield has more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Westside Community Betterment, Springfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield, month by month
Westside Community Betterment, 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 Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
The nearest airport, Springfield-Branson Ntl, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 163 miles away.
The best schools in and around Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
Schools across Westside Community Betterment, Springfield average a D+, better than 19% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Price ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Willard South Elem.B · 45% proficient
- Sherwood Elem.C+ · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willard Intermediate NorthB+ · 51% proficient
- Republic MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Carver MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Republic HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Willard HighB · 50% proficient
- Central HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Westside Community Betterment, Springfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Westside Community Betterment, 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 Westside Community Betterment, Springfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield
Is Westside Community Betterment, Springfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westside Community Betterment, Springfield ranks 5,490th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on distance from a big city and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westside Community Betterment, Springfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $100,445. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $43,206 median income, cost of living beats 15% of neighborhoods.
Is Westside Community Betterment, Springfield safe?
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield is safer than 32% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $693 per resident a year.
Compare Westside Community Betterment, Springfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westside Community Betterment, Springfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westside Community Betterment, 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.
Westside Community Betterment, Springfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westside Community Betterment, Springfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westside Community Betterment, Springfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westside Community Betterment, Springfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westside Community Betterment, 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.