Best Places52203, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52203, 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.
52203 ranks 3,341st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52203
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.
52203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52203 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 52203 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52203
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,174, 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 52203'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 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 52203
52203 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 52203.
Who works in 52203, and how
Work in 52203 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52203
52203 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 52203 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52203, month by month
52203 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 52203
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 205 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52203
Schools across 52203 average an A, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Keystone Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Prairie Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Amana Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clear Creek Amana Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Norway Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Prairie CreekA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Clear Creek Amana High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Benton Community Senior High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Prairie High SchoolA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52203 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 52203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52203
Is 52203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52203 ranks 3,341st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state finances, and health care access, and lowest on a weak job market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,195. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $104,174 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 52203 safe?
Yes, 52203 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $151 per resident a year.
Compare 52203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52203 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.
52203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52203 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.