Best Places52241, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52241, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
52241 ranks 3,710th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 52241
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.
52241's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52241 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of zip codes
Where 52241 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 38% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 41% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52241
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52241 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,876, 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 52241's effective rate of 1.59%, 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 52241
52241 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 52241.
Who works in 52241, and how
Work in 52241 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 52241
52241 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 52241 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52241, month by month
52241 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 52241
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 190 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52241
Schools across 52241 average an A−, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wickham ElementaryA+ · 86% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Norman Borlaug Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clear Creek Amana Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- North Central Junior High SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Northwest Junior High SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Clear Creek Amana High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- West Senior High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Iowa City High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52241 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52241 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 52241 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 52241 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 57% of zip codes and health care access beats 62%.
Common questions about living in 52241
Is 52241 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52241 ranks 3,710th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, state finances, and population health, and lowest on noise and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52241 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $302,898. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $89,876 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 52241 safe?
52241 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $303 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 52241?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 16. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of zip codes.
Is 52241 good for families?
Schools beat 91% of zip codes, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $773 a month.
Compare 52241 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52241. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52241 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.
52241 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52241: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52241: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52241: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52241: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52241 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.