Best Places55001, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55001, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
55001 ranks 1,590th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55001
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.
55001's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55001 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$140,834 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 55001 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55001
A household needs to earn about $179,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55001 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $140,834, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 55001's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 55001
55001 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55001.
Who works in 55001, and how
Work in 55001 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 55001
55001 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55001 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55001, month by month
55001 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55001
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 20 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 17.5 million passengers in 2025, with 195 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 55001
Schools across 55001 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Andersen ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Afton-lakeland ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Pinecrest ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lake Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Oak-land Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Hastings Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- East Ridge High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Stillwater Area High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Hastings High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55001 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55001 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 55001 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55001
Is 55001 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55001 ranks 1,590th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and what local pay buys, and lowest on childcare costs and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55001 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $682,519. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $140,834 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 55001 safe?
Yes, 55001 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $185 per resident a year.
Compare 55001 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55001. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55001 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.
55001 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55001: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55001: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55001: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55001: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55001 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.