Best Places50701, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50701, 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.
50701 ranks 7,356th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 50701
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.
50701's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50701 ranks high
- Short commute15.2 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 50701 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Household income$67,301 median, better than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50701
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50701 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,301, 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 50701's effective rate of 1.53%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50701
50701 runs younger 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 50701.
Who works in 50701, and how
Work in 50701 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 50701
50701 has more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 50701 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50701, month by month
50701 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 50701
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 172 miles away.
The best schools in and around 50701
Schools across 50701 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- La Porte City Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Dysart-geneseo Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Orchard Hill Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Peet Junior High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Union Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Hoover Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Cedar Falls High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Hudson High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Union High SchoolA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50701 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50701 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 50701 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 50701 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 50701
Is 50701 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50701 ranks 7,356th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and fast internet, 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 50701 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $198,403. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $67,301 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 50701 safe?
Yes, 50701 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 50701?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 11. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 53% of zip codes.
Is 50701 good for families?
Schools beat 82% of zip codes, crime safety beats 59%, and childcare runs $736 a month.
Compare 50701 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50701. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50701 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.
50701 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50701: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50701: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50701: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50701: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50701 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.