Best PlacesClayton County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Clayton County, 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.
Clayton County ranks 783rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Clayton 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.
Clayton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clayton County ranks high
- School gradeA−, better than 95% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of counties
Where Clayton County ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 18% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 31% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Clayton County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clayton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,435, 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 Clayton County's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clayton County
Clayton 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 Clayton County.
Who works in Clayton County, and how
Work in Clayton County centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Clayton County
Clayton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties and more parkland per resident than 98% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clayton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Clayton County growing, and who is moving in?
Clayton County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Winneshiek County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Clayton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Clayton County, month by month
Clayton County sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Clayton County
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clayton County
Schools across Clayton County average an A−, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clayton Ridge Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Epworth Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Central ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Drexler Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- North Fayette Valley Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Clayton Ridge Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Western Dubuque High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Clayton Ridge High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Mfl Marmac HsA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clayton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clayton 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 Clayton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Clayton County
Is Clayton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clayton County ranks 783rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, state finances, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on cell coverage 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 Clayton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,962. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $68,435 median income, cost of living beats 60% of counties.
Is Clayton County safe?
Yes, Clayton County is safer than 80% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
Compare Clayton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clayton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clayton 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.
Clayton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clayton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clayton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clayton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clayton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clayton 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.