Best Places52306, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52306, 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.
52306 ranks 10,745th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 52306
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.
52306's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52306 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 52306 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Short commute30.6 minutes each way, better than only 26% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52306
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52306 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,130, 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 52306's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 52306
52306 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 52306.
Who works in 52306, and how
Work in 52306 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 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 52306
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52306.
What the weather is like in 52306, month by month
52306 sees roughly 105 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 52306
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 172 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52306
Schools across 52306 average an A−, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lisbon Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Tipton Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Strawberry HillA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tipton Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Anamosa Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Mount Vernon High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Lisbon SecondaryA · 78% proficient
- Tipton High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52306 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52306 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 52306 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52306
Is 52306 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52306 ranks 10,745th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52306 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,521. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $83,130 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 52306 safe?
Yes, 52306 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $217 per resident a year.
Compare 52306 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52306. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52306 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.
52306 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52306: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52306: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52306: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52306: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52306 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.