Best Places51360, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51360, 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.
51360 ranks 2,363rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51360
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.
51360's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51360 ranks high
- Short commute14.5 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 51360 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51360
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51360 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,284, 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 51360's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 51360
51360 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 51360.
Who works in 51360, and how
Work in 51360 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 51360
51360 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 51360 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 51360, month by month
51360 sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 51360
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 76 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51360
Schools across 51360 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Harris-lake Park Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Okoboji Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Okoboji Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Spirit Lake Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Estherville Lincoln Central Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top high schools
- Spirit Lake High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Okoboji High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Estherville Lincoln Central High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51360 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51360 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 51360 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51360
Is 51360 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51360 ranks 2,363rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, civic engagement, and good schools, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51360 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $306,506. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $81,284 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 51360 safe?
Yes, 51360 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $180 per resident a year.
Compare 51360 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51360. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51360 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.
51360 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51360: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51360: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51360: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51360: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51360 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.