Best Places51536, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 51536, 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.
51536 ranks 7,842nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 51536
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.
51536's strengths and weaknesses
Where 51536 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 51536 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 51536
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 51536 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,573, 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 51536's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 51536
51536'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 51536.
Who works in 51536, and how
Work in 51536 centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 51536
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 51536.
What the weather is like in 51536, month by month
51536 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 15° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 51536
Eppley Airfield sits about 28 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 51536
Schools across 51536 average an A, better than 93% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ahstw Primary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Riverside Community Carson ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ahstw Intermediate SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
Top high schools
- Ahstw High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Riverside Community High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 51536 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
51536 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 51536 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 51536
Is 51536 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 51536 ranks 7,842nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on a weak job market and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 51536 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,031. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $89,573 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 51536 safe?
51536 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
Compare 51536 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 51536. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 51536 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.
51536 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 51536: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 51536: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 51536: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 51536: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
51536 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.