Best Places51101, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51101, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
51101 ranks 27,137th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 51101
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.
51101's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51101 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute15.0 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 51101 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$32,396 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51101
A household needs to earn about $20,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51101 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $32,396, 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 51101's effective rate of 1.68%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 51101
51101's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 51101.
Who works in 51101, and how
Work in 51101 centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 51101
51101 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 51101 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 51101, month by month
51101 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 22° | 12° |
| April | 65° | 49° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 51° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 51101
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51101
Schools across 51101 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Spalding Park ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Unity Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Liberty Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- North Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- East High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- North High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- West High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51101 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51101 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 51101 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51101
Is 51101 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51101 ranks 27,137th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and biking, and lowest on noise and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51101 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $68,900. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $32,396 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 51101 safe?
51101 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,095 per resident a year.
Compare 51101 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51101. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51101 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.
51101 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51101: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51101: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51101: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51101: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51101 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.