Best Places52168, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52168, 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.
52168 ranks 5,404th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 52168
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.
52168's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52168 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 52168 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52168
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52168 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,980, 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 52168's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 52168
52168 runs younger 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 52168.
Who works in 52168, and how
Work in 52168 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52168
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52168.
What the weather is like in 52168, month by month
52168 sees roughly 143 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 52168
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52168
Schools across 52168 average an A−, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- South Winneshiek Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Winneshiek Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- South Winneshiek High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52168 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52168 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 52168 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52168
Is 52168 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52168 ranks 5,404th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes 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 52168 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,492. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,980 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 52168 safe?
Yes, 52168 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare 52168 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52168. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52168 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.
52168 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52168: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52168: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52168: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52168: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52168 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.