Best Places50629, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50629, 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.
50629 ranks 5,709th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50629
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.
50629's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50629 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 138 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 50629 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50629
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50629 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,233, 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 50629's effective rate of 1.07%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50629
50629 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 50629.
Who works in 50629, and how
Work in 50629 centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 50629
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50629.
What the weather is like in 50629, month by month
50629 sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 50629
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50629
Schools across 50629 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Readlyn Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Dunkerton ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Fairbank Elementary SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oelwein Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Wapsie Valley High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Jesup High SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Dunkerton High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50629 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50629 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 50629 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50629
Is 50629 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50629 ranks 5,709th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and the weather, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50629 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $210,803. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $84,233 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 50629 safe?
Yes, 50629 is safer than 67% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
Compare 50629 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50629. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50629 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.
50629 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50629: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50629: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50629: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50629: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50629 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.