Best PlacesColumbus City, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbus City, 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.
Columbus City ranks 10,726th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Columbus City
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.
Columbus City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbus City ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
- Household income$92,319 median, better than 79% of towns
Where Columbus City ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Columbus City
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbus City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,319, 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 Columbus City's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 Columbus City
Columbus City's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbus City.
Who works in Columbus City, and how
Work in Columbus City centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Columbus City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Columbus City.
What the weather is like in Columbus City, month by month
Columbus City sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Columbus City
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 181 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbus City
Schools across Columbus City average a B+, better than 75% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Roundy Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Winfield Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Wapello Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbus Community Junior High SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Wapello Junior High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Wapello Senior High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Columbus Community High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbus City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbus City 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 Columbus City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Columbus City
Is Columbus City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbus City ranks 10,726th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, what local pay buys, and a stable housing market, and lowest on education levels and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbus City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,107. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $92,319 median income, cost of living beats 86% of towns.
Is Columbus City safe?
Yes, Columbus City is safer than 71% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $233 per resident a year.
Compare Columbus City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbus City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbus City 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.
Columbus City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbus City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbus City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbus City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbus City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbus City 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.