Best PlacesCerro Gordo County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cerro Gordo County, 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.
Cerro Gordo County ranks 434th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Cerro Gordo 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.
Cerro Gordo County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cerro Gordo County ranks high
- Short commute15.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of counties
Where Cerro Gordo County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 29% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 34% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cerro Gordo County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cerro Gordo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,597, 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 Cerro Gordo County's effective rate of 1.32%, 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 Cerro Gordo County
Cerro Gordo County 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 Cerro Gordo County.
Who works in Cerro Gordo County, and how
Work in Cerro Gordo County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Cerro Gordo County
Cerro Gordo County has more parkland per resident than 90% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Cerro Gordo County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cerro Gordo County growing, and who is moving in?
Cerro Gordo County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Des Moines, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cerro Gordo County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cerro Gordo County, month by month
Cerro Gordo County sees roughly 112 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° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Cerro Gordo County
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cerro Gordo County
Schools across Cerro Gordo County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Central Springs Elem. Manly CampusA+ · 75% proficient
- Garner-hayfield-ventura Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Springs Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Garner-hayfield-ventura Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Forest City Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
Top high schools
- Forest City High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Central Springs High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Garner-hayfield-ventura High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cerro Gordo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cerro Gordo County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 69% of counties and health care access beats 85%.
Common questions about living in Cerro Gordo County
Is Cerro Gordo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cerro Gordo County ranks 434th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, biking, and state finances, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cerro Gordo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $197,575. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $72,597 median income, cost of living beats 68% of counties.
Is Cerro Gordo County safe?
Yes, Cerro Gordo County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cerro Gordo County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 10. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 69% of counties.
Is Cerro Gordo County good for families?
Schools beat 90% of counties, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $697 a month.
Compare Cerro Gordo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cerro Gordo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cerro Gordo 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.
Cerro Gordo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cerro Gordo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cerro Gordo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cerro Gordo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cerro Gordo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cerro Gordo 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.