Best Places50635, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50635, 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.
50635 ranks 5,786th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50635
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.
50635's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50635 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 50635 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50635
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50635 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,703, 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 50635's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 50635
50635 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 50635.
Who works in 50635, and how
Work in 50635 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 50635
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50635.
What the weather is like in 50635, month by month
50635 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 50635
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 175 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50635
Schools across 50635 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Grundy Center Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Gladbrook-reinbeck Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Gmg Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grundy Center Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
Top high schools
- Grundy Center High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Gladbrook-reinbeck Jr. High & High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Gmg Secondary SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50635 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50635 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 50635 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50635
Is 50635 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50635 ranks 5,786th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, state finances, and quiet, and lowest on a weak job market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50635 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,000. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $78,703 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 50635 safe?
Yes, 50635 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 50635 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50635. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50635 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.
50635 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50635: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50635: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50635: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50635: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50635 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.