Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Missouri ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

B+KearneySafer than 66% of U.S. towns D−BridgetonSafer than 3% of U.S. towns

Schools

AKearneyBetter than 93% of districts in the state DBridgetonBetter than 13% of districts in the state

Health

A−KearneyHealthier than 76% of U.S. towns B−BridgetonHealthier than 50% of U.S. towns

14Kearney

7Bridgeton

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

SafestSafety · 156 towns #27#146 Best schoolsSchools · 226 towns #18#185 Fastest growingGrowth · 260 towns #14#162 Most new homesHousing · 200 towns #62#163 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 261 towns #148#17 Most activeHealth · 261 towns #24#104 Highest incomeIncome · 261 towns #30#91 Shortest commuteGetting around · 261 towns #166#111

Left end = #1 in Missouri. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Kearney’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $630 more a month in Kearney

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Kearney$2,440/mo

Typical home $403K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.99% · or rent about $1,251/mo · Housing →

Bridgeton$1,810/mo

Typical home $281K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.44% · or rent about $1,172/mo · Housing →

The difference: $630 a month, about $7,600 a year, between Kearney and Bridgeton.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

KearneyBridgeton

Snow a year19″17″

January low17°F 24°F

July high88°F 90°F

Growing season (days)181d 215d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)50th 68th

Outdoors & history

KearneyBridgeton

Trails3 mi 5 mi

Conserved land2%1.9%

Settled1856 —

National Register places3 1

Archive photos—18

Famous people born here5 6

Community

KearneyBridgeton

Library hours a week69 hrs 64 hrs

Colleges in town—1

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

215 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

KearneyMO BridgetonMO

Kearney ↔ Bridgeton215 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Missouri average

KearneyBridgeton

People

Population 10,885Lowest 11,369Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +24.1%Highest MO: +2.8% -0.9%Lowest MO: +2.8%

Median age 39.3±3.1Lowest about the MO average 40.9±3Highest 5% above MO

Bridgeton and Kearney are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 23.7%±3.6Highest MO: 22.3% 21.8%±3.8Lowest MO: 22.3%

Kearney and Bridgeton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 18.1%±2.9Lowest MO: 17.9% 21.5%±3.1Highest MO: 17.9%

Bridgeton and Kearney are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 36.8%Highest MO: 32.4% 36%Lowest MO: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.6%±1.6Lowest MO: 5.7% 3.9%±1.3Highest MO: 5.7%

Bridgeton and Kearney are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $103,622±$11kHighest 47% above MO $72,005±$17kLowest about the MO average

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $298,400±$20kHighest 30% above MO $237,700±$18kLowest 3% above MO

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,251±$185Highest 21% above MO $1,172±$67Lowest 13% above MO

Kearney and Bridgeton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,940Lowest 51% above MO $3,411Highest 75% above MO

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 42.4%±15.2Lowest MO: 45.6% 45.6%±9.9Highest MO: 45.6%

Bridgeton and Kearney are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 3.6%Lowest MO: 12.6% 11.5%Highest MO: 12.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 74.5%Highest MO: 68.1% 63.1%Lowest MO: 68.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 2002Highest 24 yrs newer than MO 1977Lowest 1 yr older than MO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minHighest about the MO average 21 minLowest 10% below MO

Work from home 15.2%±3.7Highest MO: 13% 12.6%±2.6Lowest MO: 13%

Kearney and Bridgeton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 11.2%Highest 7.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.8 miHighest 8.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.58Lowest 4.29Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Kansas City (29%)St. Louis (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BridgetonFew work in Kearney

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2%Highest 1.9%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 2.9 miLowest 4.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Lowest 8Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 35.0Highest 34.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #18 of 226 in MO #185 of 226 in MO

School district KEARNEY R-IPATTONVILLE R-III

High school in town Kearney HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 14.2 —

Missouri average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Kearney neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Kearney’s Town Square.

Bridgeton neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bridgeton’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Kearney

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Mosby52 people

Towns like Kearney

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Jackson15,659 people · $240K homes

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Washington15,130 people · $232K homes

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Smithville10,705 people · $291K homes

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Carl Junction8,339 people · $218K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Missouri towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Kearney vs Bridgeton

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Kearney places higher on 14 of 21 MO lists

A typical home costs $630 more a month in Kearney

What daily life feels like in each

215 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Kearney and Bridgeton

Bordering Kearney

Towns like Kearney

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