Best PlacesSouthwest Area, Cedar Rapids, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids ranks 4,312th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
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.
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids' strengths and weaknesses
Where Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$727 a month, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.9 minutes each way, better than 74% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of neighborhoods
Where Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,819, 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 Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids' effective rate of 1.70%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids.
Who works in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids, and how
Work in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 95% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids, month by month
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids 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 | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 193 miles away.
The best schools in and around Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
Schools across Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids average a B−, better than 68% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Prairie Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Van Buren Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Grant Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie CreekA · 61% proficient
- Wilson Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie High SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids 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 Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids
Is Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids ranks 4,312th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and affordable childcare, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,366. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $59,819 median income, cost of living beats 37% of neighborhoods.
Is Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids safe?
Yes, Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $405 per resident a year.
Compare Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids 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.
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southwest Area, Cedar Rapids 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.