Best Places53715, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53715, 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.
53715 ranks 13,497th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 53715
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.
53715's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53715 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute16.2 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
Where 53715 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Household income$46,847 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53715
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53715 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $46,847, 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 53715's effective rate of 1.64%, 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 53715
53715 runs younger than the country, 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 53715.
Who works in 53715, and how
Work in 53715 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 40%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 43%
Life in 53715
53715 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 83% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 53715 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53715, month by month
53715 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 53715
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 76 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53715
Schools across 53715 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Randall Elementary SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Lincoln ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hamilton MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Cherokee Heights MiddleC · 34% proficient
- James Wright MiddleD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- West HighB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53715 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53715 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 53715 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53715
Is 53715 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53715 ranks 13,497th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53715 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $437,892. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $46,847 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 53715 safe?
53715 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $751 per resident a year.
Compare 53715 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53715. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53715 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.
53715 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53715: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53715: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53715: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53715: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53715 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.