Best Places53115, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53115, 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.
53115 ranks 12,471st 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 53115
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.
53115's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53115 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Short commute21.6 minutes each way, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 53115 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53115
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53115 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,663, 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 53115's effective rate of 1.34%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53115
53115 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 53115.
Who works in 53115, and how
Work in 53115 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 53115
53115 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 53115 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53115, month by month
53115 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 53115
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53115
Schools across 53115 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tibbets ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Jackson ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
- West Side ElementaryB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elkhorn Area MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Clinton Junior HighC+ · 36% proficient
- Williams Bay MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Elkhorn Area HighB− · 41% proficient
- Williams Bay HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Whitewater HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53115 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53115 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 53115 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53115
Is 53115 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53115 ranks 12,471st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and big-city access, 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 53115 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $259,259. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $75,663 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 53115 safe?
Yes, 53115 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 53115 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53115. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53115 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.
53115 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53115: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53115: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53115: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53115: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53115 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.