Best PlacesNorth Washington, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Washington, 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.
North Washington ranks 3,774th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Washington
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.
North Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Washington ranks high
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 94% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 94% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 132 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of towns
Where North Washington ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 28% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 37% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 39% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Washington
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,317, 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 North Washington's effective rate of 0.92%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Washington
North Washington 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 North Washington.
Who works in North Washington, and how
Work in North Washington centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in North Washington
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Washington.
What the weather is like in North Washington, month by month
North Washington sees roughly 132 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 North Washington
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Washington
Schools across North Washington average an A, better than 94% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- New Hampton Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Hampton Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- New Hampton High SchoolA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Washington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Washington 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 North Washington against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Washington
Is North Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Washington ranks 3,774th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, state finances, and good schools, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,934. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $83,317 median income, cost of living beats 80% of towns.
Is North Washington safe?
Yes, North Washington is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
Compare North Washington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Washington 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.
North Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Washington 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.