Best PlacesPalo Alto County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Palo Alto County, 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.
Palo Alto County ranks 419th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Palo Alto 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.
Palo Alto County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Palo Alto County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 94% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of counties
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 90% of counties
Where Palo Alto County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 24% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Palo Alto County
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Palo Alto County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,599, 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 Palo Alto County's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 Palo Alto County
Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County.
Who works in Palo Alto County, and how
Work in Palo Alto County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Palo Alto County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Palo Alto County.
Is Palo Alto County growing, and who is moving in?
Palo Alto County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Kossuth County, IA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Palo Alto County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Palo Alto County, month by month
Palo Alto County sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Palo Alto County
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Palo Alto County
Schools across Palo Alto County average an A−, better than 94% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Bend-mallard Elementary SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- North Union ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- West Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Bend-mallard Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Sioux Central Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- North Union Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- West Bend-mallard High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Pocahontas Area Middle/ High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Emmetsburg High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Palo Alto County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Palo Alto County
Is Palo Alto County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Palo Alto County ranks 419th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, good schools, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Palo Alto County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,545. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $73,599 median income, cost of living beats 72% of counties.
Is Palo Alto County safe?
Yes, Palo Alto County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare Palo Alto County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Palo Alto County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Palo Alto 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.
Palo Alto County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Palo Alto County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Palo Alto County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Palo Alto County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Palo Alto County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Palo Alto 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.