Best PlacesMarshalltown, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Marshalltown, 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.
Marshalltown ranks 1,168th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Marshalltown
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.
Marshalltown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marshalltown ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of cities
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 95% of cities
- Cheap childcare$705 a month, better than 89% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of cities
Where Marshalltown ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 13% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Marshalltown
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marshalltown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,494, 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 Marshalltown's effective rate of 1.55%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marshalltown
Marshalltown'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 Marshalltown.
Who works in Marshalltown, and how
Work in Marshalltown centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Marshalltown
Marshalltown has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of cities and more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Marshalltown and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Marshalltown, month by month
Marshalltown sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 13° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Marshalltown
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marshalltown
Schools across Marshalltown average a B, better than 66% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Bcluw Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- West Marshall Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Colfax-mingo Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Marshall Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- East Marshall Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Bcluw Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- West Marshall High SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Gmg Secondary SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- East Marshall Senior High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marshalltown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Marshalltown suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Marshalltown
Is Marshalltown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marshalltown ranks 1,168th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state finances, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marshalltown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,676. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $71,494 median income, cost of living beats 32% of cities.
Is Marshalltown safe?
Marshalltown is safer than 38% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $343 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Marshalltown?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 29 with lows near 13. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 64% of cities.
Is Marshalltown good for families?
Schools beat 66% of cities, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $705 a month.
Compare Marshalltown with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marshalltown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marshalltown 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.
Marshalltown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marshalltown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marshalltown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marshalltown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marshalltown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marshalltown 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.