Best Places50465, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50465, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
50465 ranks 16,416th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50465
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.
50465's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50465 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 50465 ranks low
- Household income$46,715 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50465
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50465 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,715, 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 50465's effective rate of 1.21%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50465
50465's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50465.
Who works in 50465, and how
Work in 50465 centers on other services and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 50465
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50465.
What the weather is like in 50465, month by month
50465 sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 50465
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50465
Schools across 50465 average a B+, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Iowa Elem Buffalo CenterA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Iowa Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- North Iowa High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50465 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50465 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 50465 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50465
Is 50465 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50465 ranks 16,416th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and civic engagement, and lowest on low incomes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50465 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $82,500. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $46,715 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 50465 safe?
50465 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
Compare 50465 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50465. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50465 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.
50465 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50465: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50465: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50465: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50465: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50465 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.