Best Places53081, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53081, 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.
53081 ranks 8,349th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53081
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.
53081's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53081 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 53081 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53081
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53081 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,940, 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 53081's effective rate of 1.41%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53081
53081 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 53081.
Who works in 53081, and how
Work in 53081 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 53081
53081 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 53081 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53081, month by month
53081 sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 23° | 17° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 53081
The nearest airport, Appleton International, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53081
Schools across 53081 average a C−, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kohler ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Oostburg ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Sheboygan Falls ElementaryB · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oostburg MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Kohler MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Urban MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Kohler HighB · 47% proficient
- Oostburg HighB− · 45% proficient
- Etude HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53081 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53081 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 53081 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 53081 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 53081
Is 53081 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53081 ranks 8,349th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53081 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,355. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,940 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 53081 safe?
53081 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $337 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 53081?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 17. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of zip codes.
Is 53081 good for families?
Schools beat 23% of zip codes, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,055 a month.
Compare 53081 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53081. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53081 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.
53081 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53081: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53081: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53081: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53081: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53081 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.