Best PlacesMuscatine, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Muscatine, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Muscatine ranks 986th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Muscatine
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.
Muscatine's strengths and weaknesses
Where Muscatine ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of cities
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 96% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of cities
- Cheap childcare$731 a month, better than 87% of cities
Where Muscatine ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of cities
- Household income$67,071 median, better than only 18% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 21% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Muscatine
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Muscatine home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,071, 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 Muscatine's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 Muscatine
Muscatine'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 Muscatine.
Who works in Muscatine, and how
Work in Muscatine centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Muscatine
Muscatine has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of cities and more parkland per resident than 96% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Muscatine and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Muscatine, month by month
Muscatine sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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 | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Muscatine
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 166 miles away.
The best schools in and around Muscatine
Schools across Muscatine average a B+, better than 73% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Louisa-muscatine ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Durant Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Wilton Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Liberty Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Walcott IntermediateA− · 57% proficient
- Susan Clark Junior HighA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilton Jr-sr High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Louisa-muscatine Jr/sr High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Durant Junior/senior High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Muscatine school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Muscatine 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 Muscatine against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Muscatine suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Muscatine
Is Muscatine a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Muscatine ranks 986th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on distance from a big city 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 Muscatine expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,181. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $67,071 median income, cost of living beats 28% of cities.
Is Muscatine safe?
Yes, Muscatine is safer than 78% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Muscatine?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 18. That works out to about 86 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of cities.
Is Muscatine good for families?
Schools beat 73% of cities, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $731 a month.
Compare Muscatine with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Muscatine. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Muscatine 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.
Muscatine detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Muscatine: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Muscatine: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Muscatine: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Muscatine: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Muscatine 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.