Best Places53085, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53085, 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.
53085 ranks 4,008th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 53085
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.
53085's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53085 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute14.7 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 53085 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53085
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53085 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,631, 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 53085's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 53085
53085 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 53085.
Who works in 53085, and how
Work in 53085 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 53085
53085 has more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53085 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53085, month by month
53085 sees roughly 111 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 53085
The nearest airport, Appleton International, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53085
Schools across 53085 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kohler ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Oostburg ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Northview ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oostburg MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Kohler MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Howards Grove MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Kohler HighB · 47% proficient
- Oostburg HighB− · 45% proficient
- Howards Grove HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53085 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53085 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 53085 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53085
Is 53085 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53085 ranks 4,008th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, short commutes, and low crime, and lowest on air quality and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53085 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,660. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $82,631 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 53085 safe?
Yes, 53085 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $169 per resident a year.
Compare 53085 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53085. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53085 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.
53085 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53085: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53085: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53085: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53085: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53085 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.