Best Places52650, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52650, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
52650 ranks 3,181st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52650
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.
52650's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52650 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 52650 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52650
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52650 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $99,451, 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 52650's effective rate of 1.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 52650
52650 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 52650.
Who works in 52650, and how
Work in 52650 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52650
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 52650.
What the weather is like in 52650, month by month
52650 sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 52650
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 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52650
Schools across 52650 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mediapolis Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mediapolis Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
Top high schools
- Mediapolis High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52650 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52650 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 52650 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52650
Is 52650 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52650 ranks 3,181st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, a stable housing market, and good schools, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52650 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $218,677. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $99,451 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 52650 safe?
Yes, 52650 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
Compare 52650 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52650. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52650 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.
52650 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52650: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52650: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52650: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52650: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52650 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.