Best Places50841, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 50841, 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.
50841 ranks 10,732nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 50841
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.
50841's strengths and weaknesses
Where 50841 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 50841 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 50841
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 50841 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,552, 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 50841's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 50841
50841 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 50841.
Who works in 50841, and how
Work in 50841 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 50841
50841 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 50841 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 50841, month by month
50841 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 50841
Eppley Airfield sits about 64 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 73 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 50841
Schools across 50841 average an A−, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cam South Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Lenox Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Garfield Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southwest Valley Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Cam Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Lenox High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Clarinda High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Southwest Valley High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 50841 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
50841 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 50841 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 50841
Is 50841 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 50841 ranks 10,732nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 50841 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $124,274. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $67,552 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 50841 safe?
50841 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
Compare 50841 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 50841. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 50841 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.
50841 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 50841: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 50841: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 50841: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 50841: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
50841 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.