Best PlacesWest Union, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Union, 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 Union ranks 7,114th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Union
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 Union's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Union ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 93% of towns
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 90% of towns
Where West Union ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 19% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of towns
- Household income$60,190 median, better than only 28% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Union
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Union home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,190, 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 Union's effective rate of 1.38%, 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 Union
West Union 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 Union.
Who works in West Union, and how
Work in West Union centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Union
West Union has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of towns and more parkland per resident than 99% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Union and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Union, month by month
West Union sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of West Union
The nearest airport, Waterloo Regional, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 150 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Union
Schools across West Union average an A, better than 93% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Turkey Valley Elementary SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Fayette ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Valley Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Fayette Valley Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- South Winneshiek Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- North Fayette Valley High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Turkey Valley Jr-sr High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Union school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Union 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 Union against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Union
Is West Union a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Union ranks 7,114th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, civic engagement, and state finances, and lowest on property taxes 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 Union expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,555. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $60,190 median income, cost of living beats 40% of towns.
Is West Union safe?
Yes, West Union is safer than 84% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $195 per resident a year.
Compare West Union with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Union. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Union 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 Union detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Union: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Union: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Union: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Union: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Union 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.