Best Places50478, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50478, 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.
50478 ranks 9,955th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50478
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.
50478's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50478 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 50478 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Household income$63,249 median, better than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50478
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50478 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,249, 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 50478'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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50478
50478 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 50478.
Who works in 50478, and how
Work in 50478 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 50478
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50478.
What the weather is like in 50478, month by month
50478 sees roughly 119 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 50478
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50478
Schools across 50478 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Mills Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- North Iowa Elem Buffalo CenterA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Mills Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- North Iowa Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Mills Senior High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- North Iowa High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50478 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50478 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 50478 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50478
Is 50478 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50478 ranks 9,955th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and quiet, and lowest on a weak job market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50478 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,010. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $63,249 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 50478 safe?
Yes, 50478 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare 50478 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50478. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50478 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.
50478 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50478: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50478: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50478: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50478: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50478 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.