Best Places50141, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50141, 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.
50141 ranks 7,687th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50141
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.
50141's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50141 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 50141 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50141
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50141 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,563, 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 50141's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50141
50141 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50141.
Who works in 50141, and how
Work in 50141 centers on manufacturing and finance & insurance. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 50141
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50141.
What the weather is like in 50141, month by month
50141 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 22° | 15° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 50141
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50141
Schools across 50141 average a B, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Baxter Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- West Marshall Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- East Marshall Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Marshall Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- East Marshall Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Berg Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- West Marshall High SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- East Marshall Senior High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Newton Senior High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50141 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50141 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 50141 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50141
Is 50141 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50141 ranks 7,687th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and health care access, and lowest on tree cover and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50141 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,828. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $86,563 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 50141 safe?
Yes, 50141 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
Compare 50141 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50141. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50141 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.
50141 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50141: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50141: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50141: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50141: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50141 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.