Best Places50585, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50585, 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.
50585 ranks 6,306th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50585
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.
50585's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50585 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 50585 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Household income$63,416 median, better than only 30% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50585
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50585 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,416, 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 50585's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 50585
50585 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 50585.
Who works in 50585, and how
Work in 50585 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 50585
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50585.
What the weather is like in 50585, month by month
50585 sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 10° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 50585
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 117 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50585
Schools across 50585 average an A, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sioux Central Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Clay Central-everly ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Laurens-marathon Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sioux Central Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Sioux Central High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Spencer High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- South O'brien Secondary SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50585 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50585 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 50585 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50585
Is 50585 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50585 ranks 6,306th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a strong job market, and good schools, and lowest on distance from a big city and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50585 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,377. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $63,416 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 50585 safe?
Yes, 50585 is safer than 77% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
Compare 50585 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50585. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50585 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.
50585 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50585: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50585: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50585: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50585: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50585 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.