Best PlacesHumboldt County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Humboldt County, 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.
Humboldt County ranks 353rd 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 Humboldt 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.
Humboldt County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Humboldt County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 97% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of counties
Where Humboldt County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Humboldt County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Humboldt County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,655, 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 Humboldt County's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Humboldt County
Humboldt 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 Humboldt County.
Who works in Humboldt County, and how
Work in Humboldt County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Humboldt County
Humboldt County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 80% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Humboldt County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Humboldt County growing, and who is moving in?
Humboldt County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Webster County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Humboldt County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Humboldt County, month by month
Humboldt County sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 20° | 11° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Humboldt County
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around Humboldt County
Schools across Humboldt County average an A, better than 97% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Bend-mallard Elementary SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Luverne Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Taft Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clarion-goldfield-dows Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Humboldt Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Algona Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- West Bend-mallard High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Humboldt High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Clarion-goldfield-dows High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Humboldt County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Humboldt 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 Humboldt County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Humboldt County
Is Humboldt County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Humboldt County ranks 353rd 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 Humboldt County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,331. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $72,655 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is Humboldt County safe?
Yes, Humboldt County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
Compare Humboldt County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Humboldt County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Humboldt 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.
Humboldt County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Humboldt County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Humboldt County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Humboldt County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Humboldt County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Humboldt 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.