Best Places51503, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51503, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
51503 ranks 3,571st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 51503
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.
51503's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51503 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 51503 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 41% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 42% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 49% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51503
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51503 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,436, 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 51503's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 51503
51503's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 51503.
Who works in 51503, and how
Work in 51503 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 51503
51503 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 51503 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 51503, month by month
51503 sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 51503
Eppley Airfield sits about 5 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.6 million passengers in 2025, with 73 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 51503
Schools across 51503 average an A−, better than 83% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Treynor Elementary SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- West Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Underwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Treynor Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Underwood Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Glenwood Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top high schools
- Treynor High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Underwood High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Lewis Central Senior High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51503 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51503 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 51503 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 51503 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 62% of zip codes and health care access beats 62%.
Common questions about living in 51503
Is 51503 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51503 ranks 3,571st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and low crime, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51503 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,217. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $90,436 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 51503 safe?
Yes, 51503 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $199 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 51503?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 18. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of zip codes.
Is 51503 good for families?
Schools beat 83% of zip codes, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $737 a month.
Compare 51503 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51503. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51503 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.
51503 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51503: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51503: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51503: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51503: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51503 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.