Best Places50551, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50551, 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.
50551 ranks 23,350th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50551
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.
50551's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50551 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 50551 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50551
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50551 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $49,442; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 50551's effective rate of 1.23%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 50551
50551's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 50551.
Who works in 50551, and how
Work in 50551 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 50551
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50551.
What the weather is like in 50551, month by month
50551 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 50551
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50551
Schools across 50551 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pocahontas Area Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- South Central Calhoun Elementary BuildingA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Central Calhoun Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Pocahontas Area Middle/ High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- South Central Calhoun High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50551 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50551 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 50551 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50551
Is 50551 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50551 ranks 23,350th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, state finances, and a stable housing market, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50551 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,847. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $49,442 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 50551 safe?
50551 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
Compare 50551 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50551. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50551 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.
50551 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50551: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50551: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50551: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50551: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50551 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.