Best Places54874, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 54874, 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.
54874 ranks 12,124th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 54874
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.
54874's strengths and weaknesses
Where 54874 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 54874 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Short commute32.1 minutes each way, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 54874
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 54874 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,071, 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 54874's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 54874
54874 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 54874.
Who works in 54874, and how
Work in 54874 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 54874
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 54874.
What the weather is like in 54874, month by month
54874 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 15° | 8° |
| April | 47° | 37° | 29° |
| July | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 54874
The nearest airport, Duluth International, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around 54874
Schools across 54874 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northwestern ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Lake Superior ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Four Corners ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northwestern MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Superior MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwestern HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Superior HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 54874 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
54874 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 54874 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 54874
Is 54874 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 54874 ranks 12,124th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on walkability and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 54874 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,392. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $89,071 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 54874 safe?
Yes, 54874 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $274 per resident a year.
Compare 54874 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 54874. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 54874 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.
54874 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 54874: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 54874: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 54874: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 54874: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
54874 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.