Best Places53156, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53156, 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.
53156 ranks 9,185th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 53156
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.
53156's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53156 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 53156 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53156
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53156 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,309, 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 53156's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 53156
53156's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 53156.
Who works in 53156, and how
Work in 53156 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 53156
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 53156.
What the weather is like in 53156, month by month
53156 sees roughly 71 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 53156
General Mitchell International sits about 35 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.9 million passengers in 2025, with 66 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 53156
Schools across 53156 average a C−, better than 18% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Washington ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Eagle ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palmyra-eagle MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Whitewater MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Whitewater HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Palmyra-eagle HighF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53156 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53156 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 53156 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53156
Is 53156 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53156 ranks 9,185th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, heat safety, and population health, and lowest on civic engagement and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53156 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,744. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $94,309 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 53156 safe?
Yes, 53156 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 53156 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53156. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53156 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.
53156 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53156: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53156: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53156: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53156: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53156 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.