Best Places51443, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51443, 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.
51443 ranks 7,368th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 51443
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.
51443's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51443 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 51443 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51443
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51443 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,212, 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 51443's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 51443
51443's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 51443.
Who works in 51443, and how
Work in 51443 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 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 51443
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 51443.
What the weather is like in 51443, month by month
51443 sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 51443
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 51443
Schools across 51443 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cr-b Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- South Central Calhoun Elementary BuildingA · 65% proficient
- Paton-churdan ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carroll Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- South Central Calhoun Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Carroll High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Greene County High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- South Central Calhoun High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51443 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51443 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 51443 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51443
Is 51443 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51443 ranks 7,368th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51443 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,721. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $80,212 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 51443 safe?
Yes, 51443 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $148 per resident a year.
Compare 51443 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51443. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51443 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.
51443 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51443: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51443: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51443: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51443: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51443 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.