Best Places50428, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50428, 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.
50428 ranks 5,863rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50428
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.
50428's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50428 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 50428 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50428
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50428 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,857, 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 50428's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 50428
50428 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50428.
Who works in 50428, and how
Work in 50428 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 50428
50428 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 50428 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50428, month by month
50428 sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 50428
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50428
Schools across 50428 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Springs Elem. Manly CampusA+ · 75% proficient
- Garner-hayfield-ventura Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Clear Creek Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Garner-hayfield-ventura Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Forest City Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Clear Lake Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Forest City High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Garner-hayfield-ventura High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Clear Lake High SchoolA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50428 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50428 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 50428 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50428
Is 50428 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50428 ranks 5,863rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and civic engagement, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50428 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $278,287. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $77,857 median income, cost of living beats 51% of zip codes.
Is 50428 safe?
Yes, 50428 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $187 per resident a year.
Compare 50428 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50428. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50428 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.
50428 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50428: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50428: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50428: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50428: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50428 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.