Best Places50674, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50674, 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.
50674 ranks 5,966th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50674
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.
50674's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50674 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
Where 50674 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50674
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50674 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,728, 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 50674's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 50674
50674 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 50674.
Who works in 50674, and how
Work in 50674 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 50674
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 50674.
What the weather is like in 50674, month by month
50674 sees roughly 139 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 50674
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 151 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50674
Schools across 50674 average an A, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- West Cedar Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Readlyn Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Fayette ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Hampton Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Waverly-shell Rock Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Sumner-fredericksburg Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Waverly-shell Rock Senior High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- North Fayette Valley High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- New Hampton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50674 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50674 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 50674 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50674
Is 50674 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50674 ranks 5,966th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, state finances, and a stable housing market, and lowest on distance from a big city and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50674 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,598. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $68,728 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 50674 safe?
50674 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
Compare 50674 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50674. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50674 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.
50674 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50674: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50674: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50674: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50674: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50674 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.