Best PlacesEmmet County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Emmet County, 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.
Emmet County ranks 671st of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Emmet 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.
Emmet County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Emmet County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of counties
Where Emmet County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 29% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Emmet County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Emmet County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,064, 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 Emmet County's effective rate of 1.26%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Emmet County
Emmet County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Emmet County.
Who works in Emmet County, and how
Work in Emmet County 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 6%
Life in Emmet County
Emmet County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 94% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Emmet County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Emmet County growing, and who is moving in?
Emmet County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minneapolis, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Emmet County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Emmet County, month by month
Emmet County sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Emmet County
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around Emmet County
Schools across Emmet County average an A−, better than 92% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- North Union ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- North Kossuth Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Graettinger-terril Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Union Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Estherville Lincoln Central Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Graettinger-terril Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Estherville Lincoln Central High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- North Union High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Graettinger-terril High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Emmet County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Emmet 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 Emmet County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Emmet County
Is Emmet County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Emmet County ranks 671st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, good schools, and a stable housing market, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Emmet County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $111,323. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $64,064 median income, cost of living beats 59% of counties.
Is Emmet County safe?
Yes, Emmet County is safer than 62% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
Compare Emmet County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Emmet County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Emmet 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.
Emmet County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Emmet County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Emmet County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Emmet County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Emmet County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Emmet 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.