Best PlacesCedar Hills, Cedar Rapids, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids ranks 2,133rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
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.
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$727 a month, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.6 minutes each way, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,847, 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 Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids' effective rate of 1.57%, 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 Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids runs younger 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 Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids.
Who works in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids, and how
Work in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids has more parkland per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids, month by month
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 197 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
Schools across Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids average a B, better than 72% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Maple Grove ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- West Willow Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Van Buren Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Taft Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Wilson Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business AcademyB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- John F Kennedy High SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids 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 Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids
Is Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids ranks 2,133rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, affordable childcare, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,483. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $72,847 median income, cost of living beats 57% of neighborhoods.
Is Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids safe?
Yes, Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids is safer than 89% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids 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.
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cedar Hills, Cedar Rapids 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.