Best Places52252, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52252, 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.
52252 ranks 7,299th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52252
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.
52252's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52252 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 88% of zip codes
Where 52252 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52252
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52252 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,406, 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 52252's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 52252
52252 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 52252.
Who works in 52252, and how
Work in 52252 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 52252
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52252.
What the weather is like in 52252, month by month
52252 sees roughly 89 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 | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 52252
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 171 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52252
Schools across 52252 average an A, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Monticello Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Monticello High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52252 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52252 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 52252 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52252
Is 52252 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52252 ranks 7,299th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on tree cover and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52252 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $214,300. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $73,406 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 52252 safe?
Yes, 52252 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $151 per resident a year.
Compare 52252 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52252. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52252 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.
52252 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52252: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52252: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52252: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52252: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52252 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.