Best Places53531, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53531, 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.
53531 ranks 5,199th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53531
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.
53531's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53531 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 53531 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53531
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53531 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,050, 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 53531's effective rate of 1.27%, 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 53531
53531 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 53531.
Who works in 53531, and how
Work in 53531 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 53531
53531 has more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53531 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53531, month by month
53531 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 53531
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53531
Schools across 53531 average a C+, better than 47% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cambridge ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Cottage Grove ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Deerfield ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Glacial Drumlin SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Nikolay MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Deerfield MiddleB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Stoughton HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Deerfield HighC− · 30% proficient
- Cambridge HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53531 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53531 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 53531 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53531
Is 53531 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53531 ranks 5,199th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and heat safety, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53531 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $363,288. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $104,050 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 53531 safe?
Yes, 53531 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $245 per resident a year.
Compare 53531 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53531. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53531 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.
53531 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53531: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53531: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53531: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53531: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53531 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.