Best PlacesColwell, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Colwell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Colwell ranks 15,442nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Colwell
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.
Colwell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Colwell ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of towns
- Short commute20.2 minutes each way, better than 87% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 132 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
Where Colwell ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of towns
- Household income$59,685 median, better than only 27% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Colwell
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Colwell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,685, 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 Colwell's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 Colwell
Colwell 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 Colwell.
Who works in Colwell, and how
Work in Colwell centers on manufacturing and other services. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Colwell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Colwell.
What the weather is like in Colwell, month by month
Colwell sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Colwell
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around Colwell
Schools across Colwell average a B+, better than 77% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- New Hampton Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Riceville Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Rrmr Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Hampton Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Osage Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Charles City MsA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- New Hampton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Osage High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Rockford Junior-senior High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Colwell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Colwell 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 Colwell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Colwell
Is Colwell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Colwell ranks 15,442nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, fast internet, and civic engagement, and lowest on tree cover and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Colwell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $127,203. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $59,685 median income, cost of living beats 36% of towns.
Is Colwell safe?
Yes, Colwell is safer than 85% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare Colwell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Colwell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Colwell 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.
Colwell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Colwell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Colwell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Colwell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Colwell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Colwell 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.