Best Places53221, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53221, 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.
53221 ranks 12,194th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53221
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.
53221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53221 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 53221 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53221
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,189, 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 53221'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53221
53221's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 53221.
Who works in 53221, and how
Work in 53221 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 53221
53221 has more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53221 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53221, month by month
53221 sees roughly 79 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 53221
General Mitchell International sits about 2 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 53221
Schools across 53221 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant View ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Cedar Hills ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Elm Dale ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Forest Park MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Greenfield MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Audubon Technology And Communication MiddleF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Reagan College Preparatory HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Franklin HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Greenfield HighD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53221 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 53221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 53221 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 53221
Is 53221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53221 ranks 12,194th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and low disaster risk, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $224,380. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $71,189 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 53221 safe?
53221 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 53221?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 18. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of zip codes.
Is 53221 good for families?
Schools beat 24% of zip codes, crime safety beats 49%, and childcare runs $1,303 a month.
Compare 53221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53221 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.
53221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53221 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.