Best Places50272, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50272, 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.
50272 ranks 8,731st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50272
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.
50272's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50272 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 50272 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50272
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50272 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,000, 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 50272's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50272
50272 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50272.
Who works in 50272, and how
Work in 50272 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 50272
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50272.
What the weather is like in 50272, month by month
50272 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 50272
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50272
Schools across 50272 average an A−, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Van Allen Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chariton Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Chariton High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50272 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50272 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 50272 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50272
Is 50272 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50272 ranks 8,731st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state finances, and a strong job market, and lowest on tree cover and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50272 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,900. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $75,000 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 50272 safe?
Yes, 50272 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $122 per resident a year.
Compare 50272 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50272. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50272 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.
50272 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50272: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50272: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50272: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50272: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50272 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.