Best PlacesHeistand, Madison, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Heistand, Madison, 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.
Heistand, Madison ranks 3,352nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Heistand, Madison
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.
Heistand, Madison's strengths and weaknesses
Where Heistand, Madison ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Heistand, Madison ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 18% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 29% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Heistand, Madison
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Heistand, Madison home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,796, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Heistand, Madison's effective rate of 1.68%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Heistand, Madison
Heistand, Madison runs younger 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 Heistand, Madison.
Who works in Heistand, Madison, and how
Work in Heistand, Madison centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Heistand, Madison
Heistand, Madison has more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Heistand, Madison and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Heistand, Madison, month by month
Heistand, Madison sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Heistand, Madison
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Heistand, Madison
Schools across Heistand, Madison average a D+, better than 18% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Kennedy ElementaryD+ · 23% proficient
- Schenk ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitehorse MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Lafollette HighD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Heistand, Madison school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Heistand, Madison 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 Heistand, Madison against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Heistand, Madison
Is Heistand, Madison a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Heistand, Madison ranks 3,352nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, a strong job market, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Heistand, Madison expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $337,725. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $67,796 median income, cost of living beats 39% of neighborhoods.
Is Heistand, Madison safe?
Yes, Heistand, Madison is safer than 58% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $412 per resident a year.
Compare Heistand, Madison with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Heistand, Madison. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Heistand, Madison 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.
Heistand, Madison detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Heistand, Madison: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Heistand, Madison: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Heistand, Madison: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Heistand, Madison: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Heistand, Madison 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.