Quiet rural city that offers fishing and hunting
In the bootheel of Missouri, Kennett is a small rural city of about 10,000 people that nestles the state lines of Arkansas and Tennessee. The county seat of Dunklin County, Missouri’s top producer of cotton, watermelon and cantaloupe, other top employers range from healthcare, manufacturing and retail. “It’s a quiet community. Kennett is pretty rural, with a lot of hunting and fishing. It’s a great place to raise kids. Our schools do an excellent job with extracurricular activities,” Kennett Chief of Police Kenny Wilson says.
Median price of single-family home is less than one-third of national median
The median price of a single-family home in Kennett is under $120,000, less than a third of the national median. Home styles range from early 20th-century architecture, including bungalows and farmhouses in the downtown and center city area, to ranch-style and split-levels in the east and southeast sections of Kennett. Newer construction can be found more in the southern parts of town.
Kennett School District 39 has four-day school week
The Kennett School District 39 serves around 1,800 students with a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1. Niche gives the district an overall C-plus. It includes two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school and the Kennett Career & Technology Center. In addition to numerous sports and arts activities, Kennett High School offers students the opportunity to join over 50 clubs that focus on anything from debate to girls who code to robotics to video production. The Kennett School District transitioned to a four-day school week in 2025 to boost teacher retention. Kennett is home to satellite campuses of Southeast Missouri State University and Three Rivers College.
Sheryl Crow Aquatic Center offers relief from summer heat and boredom
Six parks are located throughout the city. R. H. Jones Memorial Park features green space, playgrounds, and a disc golf course while Indian Park is predominantly used for baseball and softball. The Kennett Sports Complex's recreational facilities and sports fields for soccer, softball and baseball. When summer temperatures soar, folks can "Soak up the Sun" at Sheryl Crow Aquatic Center, named for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Kennett native. Next door, Mitchell Park's walking trail and picnic pavilion are adjacent to the Opera House event ballroom and the Dunklin County Museum. The semi-private Kennett Country Club includes a pool, biking paths and a golf course open to the public.
Downtown area home to historic sites, shopping, dining and movies
Downtown features a historic Dunklin County Courthouse Square, the Dunklin County Library, the U.S. Post Office and a thriving business district with antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, eateries and the renovated Kennett Palace Theater. The Kennett Square Farmers Market sells fresh produce and goods from May through October. The Walmart Supercenter in the middle of town is convenient for big shopping trips.
Annual Delta Fair kicks off Kennett’s Fall season
The Delta Fair attracts visitors from southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas at the end of September, annually. The multi-day event has fair foods, carnival rides, live music and livestock shows.
Memphis International Airport offers domestic international flights 80 miles away
U.S. Highway 84 runs through the center of town. As drivers head east, it becomes U.S. Highway 412, which leads to several larger cities, including Poplar Bluff, Missouri 45 miles away; Jonesboro, Arkansas 50 miles away; Cape Girardeau, Missouri 100 miles away; and Memphis, Tennessee 75 miles away.
Important to know
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Criminal Justice Information Services, violent crime increased between 2022 and 2023. Property crime rose in several categories during the same period, while burglary reports declined. "As of 2022, we’re on a downward trend. We had a lot more property crime in 2021 during Covid when people were really stressed,” Chief Wilson says.
Kennett experiences swings from summer to winter. Missouri is part of Tornado Alley, and Kennett has a higher risk than the state and the country. A tornado touched down in the city in 2021, uprooting trees and causing property damage. “During the winter, it can be extremely cold in the single digits,” Wilson says. “It gets extremely hot in the summer, sometimes as high as 110 degrees. The humidity can be really tough in the summer. People stay indoors a lot, and many people have swimming pools.”
