Best Places50614, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50614, 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.
50614 ranks 18,861st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50614
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.
50614's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50614 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute10.2 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 50614 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$34,898 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50614
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50614 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $34,898, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 50614's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50614
50614 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50614.
Who works in 50614, and how
Work in 50614 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 51%
Life in 50614
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50614.
What the weather is like in 50614, month by month
50614 sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 20° | 11° |
| April | 63° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 50614
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50614
Schools across 50614 average an A+, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Holmes Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top high schools
- Cedar Falls High SchoolA · 76% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50614 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50614 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 50614 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50614
Is 50614 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50614 ranks 18,861st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, an educated workforce, and short commutes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50614 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,600. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $34,898 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 50614 safe?
50614 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $717 per resident a year.
Compare 50614 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50614. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50614 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.
50614 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50614: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50614: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50614: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50614: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50614 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.