Best Places51331, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51331, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
51331 ranks 1,374th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 51331
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.
51331's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51331 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute14.1 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
Where 51331 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51331
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51331 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $84,556; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 51331's effective rate of 0.78%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 51331
51331 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 51331.
Who works in 51331, and how
Work in 51331 centers on health care & social and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 51331
51331 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 51331 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 51331, month by month
51331 sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 10° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 51331
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 73 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51331
Schools across 51331 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Okoboji Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Okoboji Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top high schools
- Okoboji High SchoolA · 76% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51331 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51331 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 51331 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51331
Is 51331 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51331 ranks 1,374th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and cell coverage, and lowest on empty homes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51331 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $353,050. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $84,556 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 51331 safe?
Yes, 51331 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare 51331 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51331. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51331 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.
51331 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51331: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51331: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51331: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51331: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51331 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.