Best Places51105, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51105, 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.
51105 ranks 20,073rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51105
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.
51105's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51105 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 51105 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51105
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51105 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,890, 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 51105's effective rate of 1.39%, 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 51105
51105 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 51105.
Who works in 51105, and how
Work in 51105 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 51105
51105 has more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 51105 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 51105, month by month
51105 sees roughly 96 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 51105
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51105
Schools across 51105 average a B+, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Spalding Park ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Leeds Elementary SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Hunt Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- North Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- East High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- North High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51105 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51105 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 51105 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51105
Is 51105 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51105 ranks 20,073rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, cell coverage, and state finances, and lowest on education levels and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51105 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $97,107. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $54,890 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 51105 safe?
51105 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $443 per resident a year.
Compare 51105 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51105. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51105 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.
51105 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51105: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51105: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51105: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51105: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51105 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.