Best Places53137, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53137, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
53137 ranks 4,393rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 53137
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.
53137's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53137 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 53137 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 29% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53137
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53137 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,561, 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 53137's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 53137
53137 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 53137.
Who works in 53137, and how
Work in 53137 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 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 53137
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 53137.
What the weather is like in 53137, month by month
53137 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 15° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 53137
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 39 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53137
Schools across 53137 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Webster ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Sullivan ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- East ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fort Atkinson MiddleB · 45% proficient
- Jefferson MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- Palmyra-eagle MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Atkinson HighC · 31% proficient
- Watertown HighD+ · 24% proficient
- Jefferson HighD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53137 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53137 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 53137 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53137
Is 53137 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53137 ranks 4,393rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, cheap car insurance, and few empty homes, and lowest on walkability and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53137 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $337,568. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $105,561 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 53137 safe?
Yes, 53137 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $144 per resident a year.
Compare 53137 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53137. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53137 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.
53137 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53137: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53137: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53137: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53137: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53137 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.