Best Places54921, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54921, 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.
54921 ranks 16,176th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54921
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.
54921's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54921 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 54921 ranks low
- School gradeC−, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,036 a month, better than only 31% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54921
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54921 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,749, 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 54921's effective rate of 1.24%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 54921
54921 runs older 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 54921.
Who works in 54921, and how
Work in 54921 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 54921
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54921.
What the weather is like in 54921, month by month
54921 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 54921
The nearest airport, Central Wisconsin, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54921
Schools across 54921 average a C−, better than 18% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Almond-bancroft ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Tri-county ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Plover-whiting ElementaryC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benjamin Franklin Junior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Wisconsin Rapids Area MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Almond-bancroft MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln HighC · 34% proficient
- Stevens Point Area Senior HighC · 31% proficient
- Tri-county HighF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54921 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54921 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 54921 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54921
Is 54921 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54921 ranks 16,176th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, health care access, and heat safety, and lowest on the schools and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54921 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $233,039. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $69,749 median income, cost of living beats 48% of zip codes.
Is 54921 safe?
Yes, 54921 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $259 per resident a year.
Compare 54921 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54921. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54921 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.
54921 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54921: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54921: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54921: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54921: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54921 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.