Best Places52101, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52101, 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.
52101 ranks 2,488th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52101
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.
52101's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52101 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 142 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 52101 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52101
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52101 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,590, 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 52101's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 52101
52101 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 52101.
Who works in 52101, and how
Work in 52101 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 52101
52101 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 52101 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52101, month by month
52101 sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 52101
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52101
Schools across 52101 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Carrie Lee ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Crestwood Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- South Winneshiek Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Decorah Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Waukon Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- South Winneshiek Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Decorah High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Waukon High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- South Winneshiek High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52101 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52101 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 52101 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52101
Is 52101 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52101 ranks 2,488th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, civic engagement, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52101 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $277,923. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $80,590 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 52101 safe?
Yes, 52101 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
Compare 52101 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52101. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52101 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.
52101 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52101: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52101: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52101: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52101: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52101 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.