Best PlacesTurkey River, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Turkey River, 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.
Turkey River ranks 27,851st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Turkey River
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.
Turkey River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Turkey River ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 96% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 80% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of towns
Where Turkey River ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of towns
- Household income$53,628 median, better than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Turkey River
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Turkey River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,628, 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 Turkey River's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Turkey River
Turkey River runs older than the country, 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 Turkey River.
Who works in Turkey River, and how
Work in Turkey River centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Turkey River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Turkey River.
What the weather is like in Turkey River, month by month
Turkey River sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Turkey River
The nearest airport, Dubuque Regional, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around Turkey River
Schools across Turkey River average an A, better than 96% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Clayton Ridge Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Cassville ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clayton Ridge Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Clayton Ridge High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Turkey River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Turkey River 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 Turkey River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Turkey River
Is Turkey River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Turkey River ranks 27,851st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on good schools, state finances, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Turkey River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,618. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $53,628 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Turkey River safe?
Yes, Turkey River is safer than 65% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
Compare Turkey River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Turkey River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Turkey River 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.
Turkey River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Turkey River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Turkey River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Turkey River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Turkey River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Turkey River 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.