Best Places52656, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52656, 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.
52656 ranks 3,026th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52656
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.
52656's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52656 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 52656 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52656
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52656 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,849, 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 52656's effective rate of 1.03%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 52656
52656 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 52656.
Who works in 52656, and how
Work in 52656 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 52656
52656 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 52656 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52656, month by month
52656 sees roughly 95 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 52656
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 148 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52656
Schools across 52656 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central Lee Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Richardson Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Lee Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Fort Madison Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Lee High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Fort Madison High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52656 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52656 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 52656 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52656
Is 52656 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52656 ranks 3,026th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state finances, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds 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 52656 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $220,984. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $85,849 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 52656 safe?
Yes, 52656 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $159 per resident a year.
Compare 52656 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52656. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52656 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.
52656 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52656: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52656: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52656: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52656: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52656 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.