Best PlacesKiester, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kiester, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kiester ranks 35,849th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kiester
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.
Kiester's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kiester ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 125 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 72% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 64% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 63% of towns
Where Kiester ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Household income$54,809 median, better than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Kiester
A household needs to earn about $19,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kiester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,809, 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 Kiester's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kiester
Kiester 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 Kiester.
Who works in Kiester, and how
Work in Kiester centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Kiester
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kiester.
What the weather is like in Kiester, month by month
Kiester sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Kiester
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kiester
Schools across Kiester average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Mills Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- North Iowa Elem Buffalo CenterA− · 57% proficient
- United South Central ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Mills Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- North Iowa Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake Mills Senior High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- North Iowa High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Alden-conger SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kiester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kiester 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 Kiester against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Kiester
Is Kiester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kiester ranks 35,849th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and walkability, and lowest on civic engagement and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kiester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $74,021. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $54,809 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Kiester safe?
Kiester is safer than 33% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
Compare Kiester with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kiester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kiester 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.
Kiester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kiester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kiester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kiester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kiester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kiester 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.