Best Places50011, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50011, 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.
50011 ranks 16,713th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50011
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.
50011's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50011 ranks high
- Short commute10.1 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 50011 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$43,316 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
Who lives in 50011
50011 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50011.
Who works in 50011, and how
Work in 50011 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 51%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 41%
Life in 50011
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50011.
What the weather is like in 50011, month by month
50011 sees roughly 99 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 50011
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 127 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50011
Schools across 50011 average a B+, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Ames Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Ames High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50011 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50011 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 50011 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50011
Is 50011 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50011 ranks 16,713th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, cell coverage, and biking, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50011 safe?
Yes, 50011 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 50011?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 14. That works out to about 99 pleasant days a year, more than 63% of zip codes.
Compare 50011 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50011. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50011 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.
50011 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50011: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50011: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50011: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50011: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50011 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.
- 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.