Best PlacesMahaska County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mahaska County, 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.
Mahaska County ranks 533rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Mahaska 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.
Mahaska County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mahaska County ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of counties
Where Mahaska County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 24% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 36% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 37% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Mahaska County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mahaska County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,434, 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 Mahaska County's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 Mahaska County
Mahaska County'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 Mahaska County.
Who works in Mahaska County, and how
Work in Mahaska County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Mahaska County
Mahaska County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Mahaska County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Mahaska County growing, and who is moving in?
Mahaska County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wapello County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Mahaska County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Mahaska County, month by month
Mahaska County sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Mahaska County
The nearest airport, Des Moines International, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mahaska County
Schools across Mahaska County average an A, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- North Mahaska Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Lynnville-sully Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pella Middle SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Lynnville-sully Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Oskaloosa Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Pella High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Lynnville-sully High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- North Mahaska Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mahaska County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mahaska 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 Mahaska County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Mahaska County suits
Common questions about living in Mahaska County
Is Mahaska County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mahaska County ranks 533rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, state finances, and low crime, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mahaska County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,091. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $71,434 median income, cost of living beats 66% of counties.
Is Mahaska County safe?
Yes, Mahaska County is safer than 88% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Mahaska County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 18. That works out to about 55 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of counties.
Is Mahaska County good for families?
Schools beat 95% of counties, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $688 a month.
Compare Mahaska County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mahaska County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mahaska 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.
Mahaska County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mahaska County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mahaska County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mahaska County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mahaska County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mahaska 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.