Best Places52170, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52170, 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.
52170 ranks 12,030th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52170
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.
52170's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52170 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 52170 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52170
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52170 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,789, 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 52170's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 52170
52170 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 52170.
Who works in 52170, and how
Work in 52170 centers on retail trade and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 52170
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52170.
What the weather is like in 52170, month by month
52170 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 52170
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52170
Schools across 52170 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Albin Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- East Campus Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Mfl Marmac Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lansing Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Waukon Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Waukon High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Kee High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Mfl Marmac HsA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52170 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52170 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 52170 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52170
Is 52170 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52170 ranks 12,030th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and civic engagement, and lowest on biking and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52170 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,915. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $74,789 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 52170 safe?
52170 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $339 per resident a year.
Compare 52170 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52170. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52170 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.
52170 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52170: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52170: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52170: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52170: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52170 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.