Best PlacesCenterville, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Centerville, 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.
Centerville ranks 18,929th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Centerville
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.
Centerville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Centerville ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute16.3 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of towns
- BikingBetter than 91% of towns
Where Centerville ranks low
- Household income$51,445 median, better than only 14% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Centerville
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Centerville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,445, 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 Centerville's effective rate of 1.30%, 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 Centerville
Centerville 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 Centerville.
Who works in Centerville, and how
Work in Centerville centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Centerville
Centerville has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of towns and more parkland per resident than 98% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Centerville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Centerville, month by month
Centerville sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Centerville
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Centerville
Schools across Centerville average a B, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Moravia Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Lakeview ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Moulton Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Howar Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Centerville High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Moravia High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Seymour High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Centerville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Centerville 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 Centerville against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Centerville
Is Centerville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Centerville ranks 18,929th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on low incomes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Centerville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $131,355. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $51,445 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Centerville safe?
Yes, Centerville is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $262 per resident a year.
Compare Centerville with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Centerville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Centerville 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.
Centerville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Centerville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Centerville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Centerville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Centerville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Centerville 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.