Best Places52645, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52645, 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.
52645 ranks 7,453rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 52645
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.
52645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52645 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 52645 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52645
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,941, 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 52645's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52645
52645'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 52645.
Who works in 52645, and how
Work in 52645 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 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52645
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52645.
What the weather is like in 52645, month by month
52645 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 52645
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52645
Schools across 52645 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mediapolis Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Salem Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Danville Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mediapolis Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Mount Pleasant Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Fort Madison Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Mediapolis High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Mount Pleasant High SchoolA · 67% proficient
- New London Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52645 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 52645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52645
Is 52645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52645 ranks 7,453rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,524. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $73,941 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 52645 safe?
Yes, 52645 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $178 per resident a year.
Compare 52645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52645 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.
52645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52645 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.