Best Places52302, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52302, 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.
52302 ranks 1,867th 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 52302
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.
52302's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52302 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 52302 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52302
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52302 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,602, 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 52302's effective rate of 1.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52302
52302's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 52302.
Who works in 52302, and how
Work in 52302 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52302
52302 has more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 52302 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52302, month by month
52302 sees roughly 111 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 52302
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52302
Schools across 52302 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Creek Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Echo Hill ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Washington Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mount Vernon Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Hazel Point Intermediate SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Oak Ridge SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top high schools
- Mount Vernon High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Linn-mar High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Marion High SchoolA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52302 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52302 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 52302 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 52302 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of zip codes and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 70% of zip codes and health care access beats 86%.
Common questions about living in 52302
Is 52302 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52302 ranks 1,867th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52302 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,213. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $93,602 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 52302 safe?
Yes, 52302 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 52302?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 29 with lows near 14. That works out to about 111 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of zip codes.
Is 52302 good for families?
Schools beat 94% of zip codes, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $727 a month.
Compare 52302 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52302. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52302 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.
52302 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52302: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52302: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52302: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52302: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52302 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.