Best Places52624, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52624, 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.
52624 ranks 3,266th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52624
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.
52624's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52624 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 52624 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52624
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52624 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $108,796, 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 52624's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52624
52624'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 52624.
Who works in 52624, and how
Work in 52624 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 52624
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52624.
What the weather is like in 52624, month by month
52624 sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 85° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 52624
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 147 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52624
Schools across 52624 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fort Madison Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Madison High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52624 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52624 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 52624 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52624
Is 52624 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52624 ranks 3,266th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on internet speeds 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 52624 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,900. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $108,796 median income, cost of living beats 95% of zip codes.
Is 52624 safe?
Yes, 52624 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $196 per resident a year.
Compare 52624 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52624. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52624 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.
52624 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52624: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52624: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52624: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52624: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52624 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.