Best PlacesBelmond, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Belmond, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Belmond ranks 6,973rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Belmond
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.
Belmond's strengths and weaknesses
Where Belmond ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 93% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of towns
Where Belmond ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 22% of towns
- Household income$59,958 median, better than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Belmond
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Belmond home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,958, 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 Belmond's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 Belmond
Belmond's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Belmond.
Who works in Belmond, and how
Work in Belmond centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Belmond
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Belmond.
What the weather is like in Belmond, month by month
Belmond sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Belmond
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around Belmond
Schools across Belmond average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- West Hancock Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- West Fork Elementary At RockwellA− · 62% proficient
- Richard O. Jacobson Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- West Hancock Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- West Fork Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- West Hancock High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Belmond-klemme Community Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Belmond school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Belmond 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 Belmond against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Belmond
Is Belmond a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Belmond ranks 6,973rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, walkability, and state finances, and lowest on air quality 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 Belmond expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,523. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $59,958 median income, cost of living beats 43% of towns.
Is Belmond safe?
Yes, Belmond is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare Belmond with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Belmond. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Belmond 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.
Belmond detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Belmond: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Belmond: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Belmond: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Belmond: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Belmond 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.