Best PlacesColumbus Junction, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbus Junction, 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 Junction ranks 15,959th 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 Junction
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 Junction's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbus Junction ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
Where Columbus Junction ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 40% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Columbus Junction
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbus Junction home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,920, 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 Junction's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 7 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 Junction
Columbus Junction runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbus Junction.
Who works in Columbus Junction, and how
Work in Columbus Junction centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Columbus Junction
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Columbus Junction.
What the weather is like in Columbus Junction, month by month
Columbus Junction 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 Junction
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 182 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbus Junction
Schools across Columbus Junction average a B+, better than 77% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Louisa-muscatine ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Roundy Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Winfield Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highland Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- West Liberty Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Columbus Community Junior High SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Highland High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Louisa-muscatine Jr/sr High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Waco High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbus Junction school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbus Junction 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 Junction against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Columbus Junction
Is Columbus Junction a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbus Junction ranks 15,959th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, walkability, 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 Junction expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,193. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $71,920 median income, cost of living beats 54% of towns.
Is Columbus Junction safe?
Yes, Columbus Junction is safer than 65% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
Compare Columbus Junction with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbus Junction. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbus Junction 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 Junction detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbus Junction: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbus Junction: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbus Junction: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbus Junction: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbus Junction 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.