Best PlacesJefferson, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jefferson, 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.
Jefferson ranks 15,705th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson
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.
Jefferson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jefferson ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 85% of towns
Where Jefferson ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 14% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of towns
- Household income$59,431 median, better than only 26% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,431, 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 Jefferson's effective rate of 1.38%, 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 Jefferson
Jefferson 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 Jefferson.
Who works in Jefferson, and how
Work in Jefferson centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Jefferson
Jefferson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of towns and more parkland per resident than 98% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jefferson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Jefferson, month by month
Jefferson sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 22° | 13° |
| April | 64° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson
Schools across Jefferson average an A−, better than 85% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Martensdale Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Paton-churdan ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Greene County ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Panorama Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Greene County Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Panorama High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Greene County High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Martensdale-st Marys Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson 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 Jefferson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Jefferson
Is Jefferson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson ranks 15,705th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, civic engagement, and state finances, 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 Jefferson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,721. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $59,431 median income, cost of living beats 38% of towns.
Is Jefferson safe?
Yes, Jefferson is safer than 79% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
Compare Jefferson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson 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.