Best Places52632, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52632, 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.
52632 ranks 18,591st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 52632
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.
52632's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52632 ranks high
- Short commute16.1 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 52632 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Household income$56,108 median, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52632
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52632 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,108, 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 52632's effective rate of 1.66%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52632
52632's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 52632.
Who works in 52632, and how
Work in 52632 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 52632
52632 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 52632 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52632, month by month
52632 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 35, 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 | 35° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 52632
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52632
Schools across 52632 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Lee Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- George Washington Elementary SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Hawthorne Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Lee Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Keokuk Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Lee High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Keokuk High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52632 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52632 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 52632 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52632
Is 52632 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52632 ranks 18,591st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and walkability, and lowest on property taxes and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52632 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,988. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $56,108 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 52632 safe?
52632 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
Compare 52632 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52632. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52632 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.
52632 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52632: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52632: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52632: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52632: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52632 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.