Best Places50010, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50010, 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.
50010 ranks 2,965th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50010
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.
50010's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50010 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute16.4 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 50010 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 46% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50010
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50010 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,687, 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 50010's effective rate of 1.31%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50010
50010 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 50010.
Who works in 50010, and how
Work in 50010 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 50010
50010 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 50010 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50010, month by month
50010 sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 50010
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50010
Schools across 50010 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gilbert Intermediate SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Roland-story Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Fellows Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gilbert Middle SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Ballard Middle SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Roland-story Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
Top high schools
- Gilbert High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Roland-story High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Ballard High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50010 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50010 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 50010 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 50010 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 63% of zip codes and health care access beats 73%.
Common questions about living in 50010
Is 50010 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50010 ranks 2,965th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, an educated workforce, and short commutes, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50010 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,966. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $75,687 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 50010 safe?
50010 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $310 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 50010?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 14. That works out to about 100 pleasant days a year, more than 63% of zip codes.
Is 50010 good for families?
Schools beat 89% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $746 a month.
Compare 50010 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50010. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50010 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.
50010 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50010: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50010: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50010: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50010: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50010 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.