Best PlacesBuena Vista County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Buena Vista County, 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.
Buena Vista County ranks 263rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Buena Vista 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.
Buena Vista County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buena Vista County ranks high
- Short commute14.0 minutes each way, better than 97% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of counties
Where Buena Vista County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Buena Vista County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buena Vista County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,451, 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 Buena Vista County's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 Buena Vista County
Buena Vista County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Buena Vista County.
Who works in Buena Vista County, and how
Work in Buena Vista County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Buena Vista County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Buena Vista County.
Is Buena Vista County growing, and who is moving in?
Buena Vista County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Des Moines, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Buena Vista County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Buena Vista County, month by month
Buena Vista County sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Buena Vista County
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 102 miles away.
The best schools in and around Buena Vista County
Schools across Buena Vista County average a B+, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Aurelia Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Galva-holstein Upper ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Alta Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alta-aurelia Middle SchA+ · 68% proficient
- Sioux Central Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Schaller-crestland Ridge View Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Alta-aurelia High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Ridge View High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Buena Vista County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Buena Vista County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Buena Vista County
Is Buena Vista County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buena Vista County ranks 263rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and state finances, and lowest on property taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Buena Vista County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,179. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $76,451 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Buena Vista County safe?
Yes, Buena Vista County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Buena Vista County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 28 with lows near 12. That works out to about 96 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of counties.
Is Buena Vista County good for families?
Schools beat 82% of counties, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $689 a month.
Compare Buena Vista County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buena Vista County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buena Vista 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.
Buena Vista County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buena Vista County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buena Vista County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buena Vista County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buena Vista County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buena Vista 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.