Best Places51365, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51365, 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.
51365 ranks 8,837th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51365
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.
51365's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51365 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 51365 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51365
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51365 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,168, 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 51365's effective rate of 1.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 51365
51365 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 51365.
Who works in 51365, and how
Work in 51365 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 51365
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 51365.
What the weather is like in 51365, month by month
51365 sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 51365
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51365
Schools across 51365 average an A−, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Graettinger-terril Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Demoney ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Estherville Lincoln Central Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Graettinger-terril Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Estherville Lincoln Central High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Graettinger-terril High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51365 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51365 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 51365 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51365
Is 51365 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51365 ranks 8,837th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and state finances, and lowest on internet speeds and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51365 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,208. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $82,168 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 51365 safe?
Yes, 51365 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
Compare 51365 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51365. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51365 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.
51365 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51365: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51365: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51365: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51365: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51365 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.