Best PlacesDonnellson, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Donnellson, 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.
Donnellson ranks 11,775th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Donnellson
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.
Donnellson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Donnellson ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 95% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of towns
Where Donnellson ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 15% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 19% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 23% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Donnellson
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Donnellson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,713, 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 Donnellson's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Donnellson
Donnellson 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 Donnellson.
Who works in Donnellson, and how
Work in Donnellson centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Donnellson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Donnellson.
What the weather is like in Donnellson, month by month
Donnellson sees roughly 95 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 85° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Donnellson
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around Donnellson
Schools across Donnellson average an A, better than 95% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Van Buren County Community School District Harmony CenterA · 65% proficient
- Central Lee Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Richardson Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Lee Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Fort Madison Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Lee High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Fort Madison High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Donnellson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Donnellson 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 Donnellson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Donnellson
Is Donnellson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Donnellson ranks 11,775th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, good schools, and state finances, and lowest on a weak job market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Donnellson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,898. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,713 median income, cost of living beats 55% of towns.
Is Donnellson safe?
Yes, Donnellson is safer than 80% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
Compare Donnellson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Donnellson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Donnellson 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.
Donnellson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Donnellson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Donnellson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Donnellson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Donnellson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Donnellson 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.