Best Places53826, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 53826, 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.
53826 ranks 21,540th 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 53826
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.
53826's strengths and weaknesses
Where 53826 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 113 pleasant days a year, better than 71% of zip codes
Where 53826 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 53826
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 53826 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,486, 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 53826's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 53826
53826 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 53826.
Who works in 53826, and how
Work in 53826 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 53826
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 53826.
What the weather is like in 53826, month by month
53826 sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 53826
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around 53826
Schools across 53826 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bluff View ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Boscobel ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- Wauzeka ElementaryC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bluff View MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- Wauzeka MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Boscobel Junior HighD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie Du Chien HighC · 32% proficient
- Wauzeka HighD− · 17% proficient
- Boscobel HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 53826 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
53826 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 53826 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 53826
Is 53826 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 53826 ranks 21,540th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on biking and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 53826 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,914. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $73,486 median income, cost of living beats 51% of zip codes.
Is 53826 safe?
Yes, 53826 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
Compare 53826 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 53826. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 53826 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.
53826 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 53826: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 53826: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 53826: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 53826: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
53826 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.