Best Places50069, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50069, 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.
50069 ranks 1,920th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50069
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.
50069's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50069 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 50069 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50069
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50069 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,438, 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 50069'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50069
50069 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50069.
Who works in 50069, and how
Work in 50069 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 50069
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50069.
What the weather is like in 50069, month by month
50069 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 23° | 15° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 50069
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50069
Schools across 50069 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Adm Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Desoto Intermediate SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Adm Senior High SchoolA · 79% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50069 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50069 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 50069 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50069
Is 50069 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50069 ranks 1,920th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, good schools, and a strong job market, 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 50069 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,200. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $98,438 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 50069 safe?
Yes, 50069 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $118 per resident a year.
Compare 50069 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50069. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50069 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.
50069 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50069: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50069: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50069: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50069: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50069 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.