Best Places53172, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53172, 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.
53172 ranks 7,824th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53172
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.
53172's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53172 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 53172 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53172
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53172 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,062, 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 53172's effective rate of 1.88%, 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 53172
53172'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 53172.
Who works in 53172, and how
Work in 53172 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 53172
53172 has more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53172 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53172, month by month
53172 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 53172
General Mitchell International sits about 3 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 53172
Schools across 53172 average a D+, better than 17% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jones ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Lakeview ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- E W Luther ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cudahy MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- South Milwaukee MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- South Milwaukee HighC− · 26% proficient
- Cudahy HighD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53172 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53172 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 53172 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 53172 suits
Families
Schools land around the 17th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 53172
Is 53172 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53172 ranks 7,824th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, low disaster risk, and walkability, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53172 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,492. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $77,062 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 53172 safe?
Yes, 53172 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 53172?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 18. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of zip codes.
Is 53172 good for families?
Schools beat 17% of zip codes, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,303 a month.
Compare 53172 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53172. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53172 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.
53172 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53172: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53172: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53172: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53172: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53172 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.