Best PlacesHamilton County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hamilton County, 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.
Hamilton County ranks 314th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hamilton 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.
Hamilton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hamilton County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 94% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of counties
Where Hamilton County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 31% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 33% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hamilton County
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hamilton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,918, 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 Hamilton County's effective rate of 1.21%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hamilton County
Hamilton County 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 Hamilton County.
Who works in Hamilton County, and how
Work in Hamilton County 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 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hamilton County
Hamilton County has more parkland per resident than 81% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hamilton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hamilton County growing, and who is moving in?
Hamilton County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Des Moines, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hamilton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hamilton County, month by month
Hamilton County sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 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° | 20° | 12° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Hamilton County
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hamilton County
Schools across Hamilton County average an A−, better than 94% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Roland-story Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- South Hamilton ElemA+ · 77% proficient
- Hubbard-radcliffe Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roland-story Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- South Hardin Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Southeast Webster-grand Southeast Valley MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- South Hamilton Middle And High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Roland-story High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Iowa Falls - Alden High SchoolA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hamilton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hamilton 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 Hamilton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hamilton County
Is Hamilton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hamilton County ranks 314th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, good schools, and state finances, and lowest on air quality and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hamilton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $160,011. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $76,918 median income, cost of living beats 81% of counties.
Is Hamilton County safe?
Yes, Hamilton County is safer than 74% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
Compare Hamilton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hamilton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hamilton 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.
Hamilton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hamilton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hamilton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hamilton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hamilton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hamilton 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.