Best PlacesGeorge, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around George, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
George ranks 5,226th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in George
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.
George's strengths and weaknesses
Where George ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 90% of towns
Where George ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of towns
- Household income$66,003 median, better than only 39% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 40% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 42% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in George
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median George home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,003, 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 George's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 George
George 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 George.
Who works in George, and how
Work in George centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in George
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across George.
What the weather is like in George, month by month
George sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 59° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 62° | 49° | 38° |
Flying in and out of George
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around George
Schools across George average an A, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Central Lyon Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- East Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- George-little Rock Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sheldon Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- George-little Rock Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Lyon Secondary SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Sheldon High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- George-little Rock Senior High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every George school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
George 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 George against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in George
Is George a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, George ranks 5,226th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and biking, and lowest on tree cover and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is George expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $168,973. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $66,003 median income, cost of living beats 45% of towns.
Is George safe?
Yes, George is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $233 per resident a year.
Compare George with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to George. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in George 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.
George detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for George: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in George: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of George: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in George: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
George 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.