Best PlacesArmstrong, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Armstrong, 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.
Armstrong ranks 9,529th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Armstrong
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.
Armstrong's strengths and weaknesses
Where Armstrong ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 95% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 92% of towns
Where Armstrong ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of towns
- Household income$64,120 median, better than only 35% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 37% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Armstrong
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Armstrong home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,120, 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 Armstrong's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Armstrong
Armstrong 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 Armstrong.
Who works in Armstrong, and how
Work in Armstrong centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Armstrong
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Armstrong.
What the weather is like in Armstrong, month by month
Armstrong sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Armstrong
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 120 miles away.
The best schools in and around Armstrong
Schools across Armstrong average an A, better than 92% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- North Union ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- North Kossuth Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Graettinger-terril Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Union Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Estherville Lincoln Central Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Graettinger-terril Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Estherville Lincoln Central High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- North Union High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Graettinger-terril High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Armstrong school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Armstrong 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 Armstrong against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Armstrong
Is Armstrong a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Armstrong ranks 9,529th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on tree cover 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 Armstrong expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,624. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $64,120 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is Armstrong safe?
Armstrong is safer than 50% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $279 per resident a year.
Compare Armstrong with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Armstrong. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Armstrong 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.
Armstrong detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Armstrong: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Armstrong: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Armstrong: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Armstrong: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Armstrong 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.