Best PlacesDavis County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Davis County, 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.
Davis County ranks 521st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Davis 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.
Davis County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Davis County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- QuietBetter than 92% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of counties
Where Davis County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 19% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Davis County
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Davis County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,276, 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 Davis County's effective rate of 1.48%, 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 Davis County
Davis County 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 Davis County.
Who works in Davis County, and how
Work in Davis County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Davis County
Davis County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Davis County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Davis County growing, and who is moving in?
Davis County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wapello County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Davis County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Davis County, month by month
Davis County sees roughly 103 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Davis County
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around Davis County
Schools across Davis County average an A−, better than 90% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cardinal ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Davis County ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Van Buren County Community School District Douds CenterB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Davis County Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Van Buren County Community Middle & High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Davis County Community High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Moulton-udell High SchoolC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Davis County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Davis 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 Davis County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Davis County
Is Davis County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Davis County ranks 521st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, quiet, and state finances, and lowest on education levels and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Davis County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,071. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $77,276 median income, cost of living beats 75% of counties.
Is Davis County safe?
Yes, Davis County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
Compare Davis County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Davis County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Davis 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.
Davis County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Davis County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Davis County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Davis County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Davis County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Davis 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.