Best Places50275, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50275, 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.
50275 ranks 16,256th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50275
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.
50275's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50275 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 50275 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute34.8 minutes each way, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50275
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50275 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,723, 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 50275'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50275
50275 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50275.
Who works in 50275, and how
Work in 50275 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 50275
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50275.
What the weather is like in 50275, month by month
50275 sees roughly 54 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 50275
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50275
Schools across 50275 average a B+, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mormon Trail Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Clarke Community Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clarke Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Clarke Community High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Mormon Trail Jr-sr High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50275 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50275 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 50275 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50275
Is 50275 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50275 ranks 16,256th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, state finances, and civic engagement, and lowest on the weather and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50275 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,159. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $83,723 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 50275 safe?
Yes, 50275 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $240 per resident a year.
Compare 50275 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50275. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50275 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.
50275 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50275: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50275: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50275: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50275: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50275 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.