Best PlacesPromise City, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Promise City, 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.
Promise City ranks 23,761st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Promise City
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.
Promise City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Promise City ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 85% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 78% of towns
Where Promise City ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Promise City
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Promise City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,819, 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 Promise City's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Promise City
Promise City runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Promise City.
Who works in Promise City, and how
Work in Promise City centers on agriculture & forestry 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 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Promise City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Promise City.
What the weather is like in Promise City, month by month
Promise City sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Promise City
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 132 miles away.
The best schools in and around Promise City
Schools across Promise City average an A−, better than 85% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Wayne Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Moravia Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Seymour Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Howar Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayne Community Jr-sr High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Moravia High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Seymour High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Promise City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Promise City 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 Promise City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Promise City
Is Promise City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Promise City ranks 23,761st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and what local pay buys, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Promise City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $73,800. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $83,819 median income, cost of living beats 85% of towns.
Is Promise City safe?
Yes, Promise City is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $243 per resident a year.
Compare Promise City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Promise City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Promise City 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.
Promise City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Promise City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Promise City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Promise City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Promise City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Promise City 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.