Best PlacesPlain, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Plain, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Plain ranks 9,192nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Plain
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.
Plain's strengths and weaknesses
Where Plain ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of towns
- Household income$94,877 median, better than 81% of towns
Where Plain ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 16% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 21% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 25% of towns
- Short commute31.8 minutes each way, better than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Plain
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Plain home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,877, 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 Plain's effective rate of 1.24%, 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 Plain
Plain'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 Plain.
Who works in Plain, and how
Work in Plain centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Plain
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Plain.
What the weather is like in Plain, month by month
Plain sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Plain
The nearest airport, Dane County Regional/Truax Field, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 111 miles away.
The best schools in and around Plain
Schools across Plain average a B−, better than 53% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Tower Rock ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- River Valley ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Ithaca ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ithaca MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Sauk Prairie MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- River Valley MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- River Valley HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Sauk Prairie HighC · 34% proficient
- Ithaca HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Plain school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Plain 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 Plain against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Plain
Is Plain a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Plain ranks 9,192nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, cheap car insurance, and heat safety, and lowest on civic engagement and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Plain expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $304,035. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $94,877 median income, cost of living beats 80% of towns.
Is Plain safe?
Yes, Plain is safer than 80% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $217 per resident a year.
Compare Plain with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Plain. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Plain 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.
Plain detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Plain: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Plain: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Plain: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Plain: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Plain 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.