Best Places52346, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52346, 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.
52346 ranks 6,649th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52346
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.
52346's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52346 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 52346 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52346
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52346 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,176, 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 52346's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 52346
52346'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 52346.
Who works in 52346, and how
Work in 52346 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, 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 52346
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52346.
What the weather is like in 52346, month by month
52346 sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 52346
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 203 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52346
Schools across 52346 average an A, better than 91% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Keystone Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benton Community Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Norway Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Benton Community Senior High SchoolA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52346 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52346 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 52346 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52346
Is 52346 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52346 ranks 6,649th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, civic engagement, and good schools, and lowest on tree cover and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52346 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,761. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $98,176 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 52346 safe?
Yes, 52346 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $240 per resident a year.
Compare 52346 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52346. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52346 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.
52346 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52346: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52346: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52346: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52346: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52346 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.