Best Places54855, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54855, 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.
54855 ranks 17,312th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54855
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.
54855's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54855 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 54855 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54855
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54855 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,778, 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 54855's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 54855
54855 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54855.
Who works in 54855, and how
Work in 54855 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 54855
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54855.
What the weather is like in 54855, month by month
54855 sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 81° | 68° | 56° |
| October | 57° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 54855
The nearest airport, Gogebic/Iron County, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54855
Schools across 54855 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Marengo Valley ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Lake Superior ElementaryD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ashland MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Ashland HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54855 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54855 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 54855 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54855
Is 54855 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54855 ranks 17,312th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on walkability and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54855 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,225. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $72,778 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 54855 safe?
54855 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $486 per resident a year.
Compare 54855 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54855. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54855 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.
54855 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54855: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54855: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54855: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54855: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54855 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.