Best PlacesAllamakee County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Allamakee County, 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.
Allamakee County ranks 389th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Allamakee County
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.
Allamakee County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Allamakee County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of counties
Where Allamakee County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Allamakee County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Allamakee County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,920, 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 Allamakee County's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 Allamakee County
Allamakee County 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 Allamakee County.
Who works in Allamakee County, and how
Work in Allamakee County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Allamakee County
Allamakee County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of counties and more parkland per resident than 84% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Allamakee County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Allamakee County growing, and who is moving in?
Allamakee County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from La Crosse, WI.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Allamakee County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Allamakee County, month by month
Allamakee County sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Allamakee County
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around Allamakee County
Schools across Allamakee County average an A, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- New Albin Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- East Campus Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Carrie Lee ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Decorah Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Lansing Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Waukon Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Decorah High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Waukon High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Kee High SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Allamakee County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Allamakee County 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 Allamakee County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Allamakee County
Is Allamakee County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Allamakee County ranks 389th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, low crime, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Allamakee County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,737. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $68,920 median income, cost of living beats 52% of counties.
Is Allamakee County safe?
Yes, Allamakee County is safer than 95% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $207 per resident a year.
Compare Allamakee County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Allamakee County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Allamakee County 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.
Allamakee County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Allamakee County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Allamakee County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Allamakee County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Allamakee County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Allamakee County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.