Best Places51531, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51531, 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.
51531 ranks 7,218th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51531
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.
51531's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51531 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 51531 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Household income$61,547 median, better than only 27% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51531
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51531 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,547, 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 51531's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 51531
51531 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 51531.
Who works in 51531, and how
Work in 51531 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 51531
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 51531.
What the weather is like in 51531, month by month
51531 sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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 | 63° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 51531
Eppley Airfield sits about 47 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 51531
Schools across 51531 average an A, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Audubon Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Exira-elk Horn-kimballton ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Guthrie Center High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Exiraelk Horn-kimballton High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51531 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51531 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 51531 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51531
Is 51531 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51531 ranks 7,218th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, state finances, and health care access, and lowest on tree cover and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51531 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,945. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,547 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 51531 safe?
Yes, 51531 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $272 per resident a year.
Compare 51531 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51531. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51531 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.
51531 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51531: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51531: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51531: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51531: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51531 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.