Best Places54970, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54970, 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.
54970 ranks 18,146th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54970
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.
54970's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54970 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 120 pleasant days a year, better than 76% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 71% of zip codes
Where 54970 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54970
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54970 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,090, 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 54970's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 54970
54970 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 54970.
Who works in 54970, and how
Work in 54970 centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 54970
54970 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 54970 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 54970, month by month
54970 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 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 | 55° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 54970
The nearest airport, Appleton International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54970
Schools across 54970 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Clay Lamberton ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Wild Rose ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Riverview ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Berlin MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Parkside SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Berlin HighD · 22% proficient
- Wautoma HighD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54970 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54970 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 54970 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54970
Is 54970 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54970 ranks 18,146th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and low taxes, and lowest on internet speeds and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54970 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,142. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $65,090 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 54970 safe?
Yes, 54970 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $206 per resident a year.
Compare 54970 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54970. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54970 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.
54970 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54970: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54970: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54970: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54970: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54970 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.