Best Places53205, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53205, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
53205 ranks 31,421st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 53205
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.
53205's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53205 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 53205 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$33,775 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53205
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53205 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $33,775, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 53205's effective rate of 1.61%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53205
53205 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 53205.
Who works in 53205, and how
Work in 53205 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 53205
53205 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53205 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53205, month by month
53205 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 55° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 53205
General Mitchell International sits about 8 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 53205
Schools across 53205 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- Lloyd StreetD · 16% proficient
- Penfield Montessori AcademyD− · 15% proficient
- Elm Creative Arts ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roosevelt MiddleF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- North Division HighF · 10% proficient
- Milwaukee High School Of The ArtsF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53205 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53205 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 53205 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53205
Is 53205 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53205 ranks 31,421st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the schools and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53205 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,413. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $33,775 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 53205 safe?
53205 is safer than 1% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,317 per resident a year.
Compare 53205 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53205. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53205 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.
53205 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53205: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53205: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53205: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53205: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53205 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.