Best PlacesWest Branch, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Branch, 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.
West Branch ranks 10,881st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Branch
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 Branch's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Branch ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 90% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of towns
Where West Branch ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 33% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Branch
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Branch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,598, 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 Branch's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 9 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 Branch
West Branch 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 Branch.
Who works in West Branch, and how
Work in West Branch centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Branch
West Branch has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of towns and more parkland per resident than 99% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Branch and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Branch, month by month
West Branch sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 23° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of West Branch
The nearest airport, The Eastern Iowa, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 178 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Branch
Schools across West Branch average an A, better than 90% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Durant Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Wilton Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Tipton Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Branch Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Tipton Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- West Liberty Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Wilton Jr-sr High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Tipton High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- West Branch High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Branch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Branch 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 Branch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Branch
Is West Branch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Branch ranks 10,881st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, state finances, and biking, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Branch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,448. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $85,598 median income, cost of living beats 76% of towns.
Is West Branch safe?
Yes, West Branch is safer than 73% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare West Branch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Branch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Branch 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 Branch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Branch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Branch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Branch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Branch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Branch 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.