Best Places52801, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 52801, 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.
52801 ranks 27,037th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 52801
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.
52801's strengths and weaknesses
Where 52801 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 52801 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$31,543 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 52801
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 52801 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $31,543, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 52801's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 52801
52801 runs younger 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 52801.
Who works in 52801, and how
Work in 52801 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in 52801
52801 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 52801 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 52801, month by month
52801 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 52801
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 52801
Schools across 52801 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mckinley Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Madison Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sudlow IntermediateA− · 54% proficient
- Frank L Smart IntermediateC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 52801 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
52801 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 52801 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 52801
Is 52801 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 52801 ranks 27,037th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and biking, and lowest on civic engagement and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 52801 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $161,800. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $31,543 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 52801 safe?
52801 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,021 per resident a year.
Compare 52801 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 52801. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 52801 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.
52801 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 52801: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 52801: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 52801: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 52801: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
52801 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.