Best Places50588, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50588, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
50588 ranks 5,378th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50588
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.
50588's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50588 ranks high
- Short commute11.0 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 50588 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50588
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50588 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,976, 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 50588's effective rate of 1.50%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50588
50588 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50588.
Who works in 50588, and how
Work in 50588 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 50588
50588 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 50588 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50588, month by month
50588 sees roughly 93 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 50588
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50588
Schools across 50588 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Alta Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Sioux Central Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Schaller-crestland ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sioux Central Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Schaller-crestland Ridge View Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Newell-fonda Middle Sch.A · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Alta-aurelia High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Sioux Central High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Newell-fonda High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50588 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50588 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 50588 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50588
Is 50588 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50588 ranks 5,378th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and cell coverage, and lowest on education levels and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50588 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,399. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $76,976 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 50588 safe?
Yes, 50588 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare 50588 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50588. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50588 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.
50588 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50588: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50588: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50588: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50588: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50588 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.