Best PlacesWest Bend, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Bend, 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.
West Bend ranks 618th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Bend
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.
West Bend's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Bend ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 98% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 89% of cities
Where West Bend ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 33% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 38% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Bend
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Bend home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,239, 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 West Bend's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Bend
West Bend 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 West Bend.
Who works in West Bend, and how
Work in West Bend centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Bend
West Bend has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of cities and more parkland per resident than 98% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Bend and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Bend, month by month
West Bend sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 22° | 17° |
| April | 55° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 61° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 42° |
Flying in and out of West Bend
General Mitchell International sits about 36 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.9 million passengers in 2025, with 66 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Bend
Schools across West Bend average a B, better than 62% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Farmington ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Addison ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Kewaskum ElementaryA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Slinger MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Ozaukee MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Kewaskum MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Slinger HighB · 50% proficient
- Random Lake HighC+ · 37% proficient
- West HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Bend school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Bend 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 West Bend against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Bend suits
Common questions about living in West Bend
Is West Bend a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Bend ranks 618th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and civic engagement, and lowest on cell coverage and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Bend expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $303,928. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $88,239 median income, cost of living beats 54% of cities.
Is West Bend safe?
Yes, West Bend is safer than 96% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $175 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Bend?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 29 with lows near 17. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of cities.
Is West Bend good for families?
Schools beat 62% of cities, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,055 a month.
Compare West Bend with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Bend. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Bend 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.
West Bend detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Bend: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Bend: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Bend: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Bend: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Bend 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.