Best PlacesWest Grove, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Grove, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Grove ranks 16,325th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Grove
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 Grove's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Grove ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 84% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of towns
- QuietBetter than 79% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of towns
Where West Grove ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 34% of towns
- Household income$63,576 median, better than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Grove
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Grove home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,576, 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 Grove's effective rate of 1.28%, 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 West Grove
West Grove runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Grove.
Who works in West Grove, and how
Work in West Grove centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Grove
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Grove.
What the weather is like in West Grove, month by month
West Grove sees roughly 105 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 West Grove
The nearest airport, Kirksville Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Kansas City International, about 155 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Grove
Schools across West Grove average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Davis County ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Davis County Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Davis County Community High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Grove school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Grove 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 Grove against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Grove
Is West Grove a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Grove ranks 16,325th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, good schools, and low crime, and lowest on education levels 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 West Grove expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,159. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $63,576 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is West Grove safe?
Yes, West Grove is safer than 84% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
Compare West Grove with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Grove. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Grove 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 Grove detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Grove: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Grove: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Grove: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Grove: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Grove 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.