Best PlacesJohnston, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Johnston, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Johnston ranks 68th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Johnston
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.
Johnston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Johnston ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of towns
Where Johnston ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 16% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 28% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 49% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 51% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Johnston
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Johnston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $131,071, 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 Johnston's effective rate of 1.67%, 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 Johnston
Johnston'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 Johnston.
Who works in Johnston, and how
Work in Johnston centers on finance & insurance and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Johnston
Johnston has more parkland per resident than 94% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Johnston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Johnston, month by month
Johnston sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Johnston
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around Johnston
Schools across Johnston average an A+, better than 97% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Henry A Wallace Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Crocker Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Beaver Creek Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parkview Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Summit Middle SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Woodside Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Ankeny High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Johnston Senior High SchoolA · 76% proficient
- Saydel High SchoolB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Johnston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Johnston 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 Johnston against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Johnston suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of towns and health care access beats 82%.
Common questions about living in Johnston
Is Johnston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Johnston ranks 68th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, what local pay buys, and good schools, 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 Johnston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $382,657. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $131,071 median income, cost of living beats 99% of towns.
Is Johnston safe?
Yes, Johnston is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Johnston?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 16. That works out to about 97 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of towns.
Is Johnston good for families?
Schools beat 97% of towns, crime safety beats 90%, and childcare runs $776 a month.
Compare Johnston with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Johnston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Johnston 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.
Johnston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Johnston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Johnston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Johnston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Johnston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Johnston 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.