Best Places50071, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50071, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
50071 ranks 10,913th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50071
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.
50071's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50071 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 50071 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50071
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50071 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,710, 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 50071's effective rate of 1.56%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50071
50071's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50071.
Who works in 50071, and how
Work in 50071 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 50071
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50071.
What the weather is like in 50071, month by month
50071 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 50071
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 154 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50071
Schools across 50071 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northeast Hamilton Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Alden Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Riverbend Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Hampton-dumont Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Iowa Falls - Alden High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Belmond-klemme Community Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50071 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50071 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 50071 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50071
Is 50071 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50071 ranks 10,913th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and low crime, and lowest on empty homes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50071 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $87,394. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $73,710 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 50071 safe?
Yes, 50071 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $186 per resident a year.
Compare 50071 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50071. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50071 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.
50071 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50071: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50071: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50071: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50071: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50071 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.