Best PlacesWinnebago County, IA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Winnebago County, 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.
Winnebago County ranks 259th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Winnebago County
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.
Winnebago County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Winnebago County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of counties
- School gradeA, better than 95% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
Where Winnebago County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Winnebago County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Winnebago County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,117, 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 Winnebago County's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 Winnebago County
Winnebago County 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 Winnebago County.
Who works in Winnebago County, and how
Work in Winnebago County centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Winnebago County
Winnebago County has more parkland per resident than 88% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Winnebago County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Winnebago County growing, and who is moving in?
Winnebago County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Freeborn County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Winnebago County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Winnebago County, month by month
Winnebago County sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Winnebago County
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Winnebago County
Schools across Winnebago County average an A, better than 95% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lucia Wallace Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Lake Mills Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Forest City Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Forest City Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Lake Mills Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- North Iowa Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Forest City High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Lake Mills Senior High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- North Iowa High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Winnebago County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Winnebago County 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 Winnebago County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Winnebago County
Is Winnebago County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Winnebago County ranks 259th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, short commutes, and civic engagement, and lowest on property taxes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Winnebago County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $144,012. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $67,117 median income, cost of living beats 67% of counties.
Is Winnebago County safe?
Yes, Winnebago County is safer than 71% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
Compare Winnebago County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Winnebago County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Winnebago County 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.
Winnebago County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Winnebago County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Winnebago County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Winnebago County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Winnebago County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Winnebago County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.