Best Places50441, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50441, 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.
50441 ranks 11,231st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50441
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.
50441's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50441 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 50441 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Household income$53,603 median, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50441
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50441 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,603, 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 50441's effective rate of 1.34%, 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 50441
50441 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 50441.
Who works in 50441, and how
Work in 50441 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 50441
50441 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 50441 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50441, month by month
50441 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 50441
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 148 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50441
Schools across 50441 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Fork Elementary At RockwellA− · 62% proficient
- South Side Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Riverbend Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Hampton-dumont Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Iowa Falls - Alden High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- West Fork High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50441 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50441 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 50441 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50441
Is 50441 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50441 ranks 11,231st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and walkability, and lowest on air quality and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50441 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $121,933. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $53,603 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 50441 safe?
Yes, 50441 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $215 per resident a year.
Compare 50441 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50441. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50441 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.
50441 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50441: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50441: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50441: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50441: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50441 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.