Best Places53820, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53820, 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.
53820 ranks 15,735th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 53820
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.
53820's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53820 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 53820 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53820
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53820 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,542, 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 53820's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53820
53820 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 53820.
Who works in 53820, and how
Work in 53820 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 53820
53820 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 53820 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 53820, month by month
53820 sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 21° | 15° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 53820
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 143 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53820
Schools across 53820 average a C+, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cuba City ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Westview ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Winskill ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Platteville MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Potosi MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Lancaster MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Platteville HighC · 33% proficient
- Cuba City HighC · 32% proficient
- Lancaster HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53820 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53820 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 53820 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53820
Is 53820 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53820 ranks 15,735th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, fast internet, and health care access, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53820 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,222. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $73,542 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 53820 safe?
Yes, 53820 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 53820 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53820. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53820 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.
53820 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53820: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53820: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53820: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53820: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53820 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.