Best Places51439, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51439, 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.
51439 ranks 14,612th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51439
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.
51439's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51439 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 51439 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51439
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51439 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,922, 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 51439's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 51439
51439 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 51439.
Who works in 51439, and how
Work in 51439 centers on retail trade and wholesale trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 51439
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 51439.
What the weather is like in 51439, month by month
51439 sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 51439
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51439
Schools across 51439 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Boyer Valley Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Schleswig Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Charter Oak-ute Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Charter Oak-ute Junior High SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Schleswig Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Denison High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Maple Valley-anthon Oto High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51439 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51439 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 51439 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51439
Is 51439 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51439 ranks 14,612th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on biking and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51439 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $113,750. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $60,922 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 51439 safe?
51439 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
Compare 51439 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51439. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51439 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.
51439 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51439: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51439: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51439: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51439: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51439 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.