Best PlacesMitchell County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mitchell 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.
Mitchell County ranks 110th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mitchell 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.
Mitchell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mitchell County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 98% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 156 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of counties
Where Mitchell County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 30% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 31% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 36% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 37% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Mitchell County
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mitchell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,485, 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 Mitchell County's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mitchell County
Mitchell County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Mitchell County.
Who works in Mitchell County, and how
Work in Mitchell County centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Mitchell County
Mitchell County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mitchell County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Mitchell County growing, and who is moving in?
Mitchell County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Floyd County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Mitchell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Mitchell County, month by month
Mitchell County sees roughly 156 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Mitchell County
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mitchell County
Schools across Mitchell County average an A, better than 98% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- St Ansgar Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Riceville Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- St Ansgar Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Central Springs Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Osage Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- St Ansgar High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Central Springs High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Osage High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mitchell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mitchell 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 Mitchell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Mitchell County
Is Mitchell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mitchell County ranks 110th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, good schools, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mitchell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,062. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $75,485 median income, cost of living beats 83% of counties.
Is Mitchell County safe?
Yes, Mitchell County is safer than 85% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $254 per resident a year.
Compare Mitchell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mitchell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mitchell 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.
Mitchell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mitchell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mitchell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mitchell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mitchell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mitchell 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.