Best Places53562, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53562, 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.
53562 ranks 1,007th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53562
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.
53562's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53562 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 53562 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,303 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 42% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53562
A household needs to earn about $161,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53562 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $120,282, 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 53562's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 53562
53562'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 53562.
Who works in 53562, and how
Work in 53562 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 53562
53562 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 53562 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53562, month by month
53562 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 53562
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53562
Schools across 53562 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pope Farm ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Elm Lawn ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Arboretum ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waunakee MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Kromrey MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Glacier Creek MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Waunakee HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Middleton HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Vel Phillips Memorial HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53562 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53562 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 53562 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 53562 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of zip codes and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 53562
Is 53562 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53562 ranks 1,007th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, cheap car insurance, and population health, 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 53562 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $561,921. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $120,282 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 53562 safe?
53562 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 53562?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 14. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 46% of zip codes.
Is 53562 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 50%, and childcare runs $1,303 a month.
Compare 53562 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53562. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53562 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.
53562 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53562: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53562: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53562: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53562: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53562 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.