Best Places50320, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50320, 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.
50320 ranks 7,353rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50320
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.
50320's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50320 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 50320 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50320
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50320 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,721, 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 50320's effective rate of 1.66%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50320
50320 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50320.
Who works in 50320, and how
Work in 50320 centers on health care & social and finance & insurance. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 50320
50320 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 50320 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50320, month by month
50320 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 50320
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50320
Schools across 50320 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Four Mile ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Wilder Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Carlisle Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spring Creek - 6th GradeA+ · 79% proficient
- Indianola Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Carlisle Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Southeast Polk High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Indianola High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Carlisle High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50320 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50320 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 50320 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 50320 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 50320
Is 50320 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50320 ranks 7,353rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, cell coverage, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50320 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $206,913. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $82,721 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 50320 safe?
Yes, 50320 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 50320?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 15. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of zip codes.
Is 50320 good for families?
Schools beat 55% of zip codes, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $774 a month.
Compare 50320 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50320. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50320 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.
50320 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50320: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50320: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50320: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50320: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50320 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.