Best Places52535, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52535, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
52535 ranks 9,040th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52535
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.
52535's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52535 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute19.9 minutes each way, better than 85% of zip codes
Where 52535 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52535
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52535 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,573, 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 52535's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52535
52535 runs older 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 52535.
Who works in 52535, and how
Work in 52535 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 52535
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52535.
What the weather is like in 52535, month by month
52535 sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 52535
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52535
Schools across 52535 average an A−, better than 85% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pence ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Van Buren County Community School District Douds CenterB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairfield Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Van Buren County Community Middle & High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Fairfield High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52535 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52535 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 52535 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52535
Is 52535 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52535 ranks 9,040th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, a stable housing market, and quiet, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52535 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $112,212. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,573 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 52535 safe?
Yes, 52535 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $205 per resident a year.
Compare 52535 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52535. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52535 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.
52535 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52535: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52535: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52535: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52535: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52535 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.