Best Places50644, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50644, 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.
50644 ranks 6,191st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50644
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.
50644's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50644 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 50644 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50644
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50644 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,930, 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 50644's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 50644
50644 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 50644.
Who works in 50644, and how
Work in 50644 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 50644
50644 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 50644 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50644, month by month
50644 sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 20° | 13° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 50644
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 179 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50644
Schools across 50644 average an A−, better than 87% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jesup Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- West Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- East Buchanan Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jesup Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- East Buchanan Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Oelwein Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Independence Junior Senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Jesup High SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Oelwein High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50644 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50644 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 50644 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50644
Is 50644 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50644 ranks 6,191st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, state finances, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50644 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $191,104. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $76,930 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 50644 safe?
Yes, 50644 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $181 per resident a year.
Compare 50644 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50644. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50644 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.
50644 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50644: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50644: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50644: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50644: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50644 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.