Best PlacesGillett Grove, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gillett Grove, 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.
Gillett Grove ranks 8,836th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gillett Grove
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.
Gillett Grove's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gillett Grove ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 91% of towns
- QuietBetter than 90% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of towns
Where Gillett Grove ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 23% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 33% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 36% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gillett Grove
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gillett Grove home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,948, 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 Gillett Grove's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 Gillett Grove
Gillett Grove'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 Gillett Grove.
Who works in Gillett Grove, and how
Work in Gillett Grove centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Gillett Grove
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Gillett Grove.
What the weather is like in Gillett Grove, month by month
Gillett Grove sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 19° | 10° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Gillett Grove
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 127 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gillett Grove
Schools across Gillett Grove average an A, better than 91% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Fairview Park ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Sioux Central Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sioux Central Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Sioux Central High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Spencer High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gillett Grove school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gillett Grove 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 Gillett Grove against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gillett Grove
Is Gillett Grove a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gillett Grove ranks 8,836th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, state finances, and good schools, and lowest on distance from a big city and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gillett Grove expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,972. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $80,948 median income, cost of living beats 72% of towns.
Is Gillett Grove safe?
Gillett Grove is safer than 46% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
Compare Gillett Grove with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gillett Grove. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gillett Grove 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.
Gillett Grove detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gillett Grove: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gillett Grove: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gillett Grove: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gillett Grove: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gillett Grove 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.