Best PlacesGalva, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Galva, 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.
Galva ranks 5,414th 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 Galva
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.
Galva's strengths and weaknesses
Where Galva ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 91% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of towns
Where Galva ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 32% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 36% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Galva
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Galva home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,916, 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 Galva's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 Galva
Galva's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Galva.
Who works in Galva, and how
Work in Galva centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Galva
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Galva.
What the weather is like in Galva, month by month
Galva sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Galva
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Galva
Schools across Galva average an A, better than 91% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Galva-holstein Upper ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Alta Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove Elementary-ida GroveA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Alta-aurelia Middle SchA+ · 68% proficient
- Cherokee Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Alta-aurelia High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Ridge View High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- River Valley Junior- Senior High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Galva school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Galva 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 Galva against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Galva
Is Galva a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Galva ranks 5,414th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and a stable housing market, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Galva expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $119,300. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $84,916 median income, cost of living beats 88% of towns.
Is Galva safe?
Yes, Galva is safer than 81% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
Compare Galva with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Galva. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Galva 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.
Galva detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Galva: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Galva: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Galva: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Galva: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Galva 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.