Best PlacesOssian, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ossian, 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.
Ossian ranks 3,779th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ossian
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.
Ossian's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ossian ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of towns
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 92% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of towns
Where Ossian ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 31% of towns
- TransitBetter than only 44% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 46% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Ossian
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ossian home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,082, 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 Ossian's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 Ossian
Ossian runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ossian.
Who works in Ossian, and how
Work in Ossian centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Ossian
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ossian.
What the weather is like in Ossian, month by month
Ossian sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Ossian
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ossian
Schools across Ossian average an A−, better than 89% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Carrie Lee ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Fayette ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- West Union Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Decorah Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- South Winneshiek Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Decorah High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- North Fayette Valley High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- South Winneshiek High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ossian school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ossian 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 Ossian against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Ossian
Is Ossian a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ossian ranks 3,779th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, low crime, and short commutes, and lowest on tree cover 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 Ossian expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,841. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $86,082 median income, cost of living beats 68% of towns.
Is Ossian safe?
Yes, Ossian is safer than 93% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
Compare Ossian with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ossian. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ossian 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.
Ossian detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ossian: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ossian: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ossian: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ossian: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ossian 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.