Best Places55038, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55038, 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.
55038 ranks 599th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55038
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.
55038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55038 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$135,477 median, better than 94% of zip codes
Where 55038 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 36% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 41% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 46% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55038
A household needs to earn about $117,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $135,477, 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 55038's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55038
55038's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55038.
Who works in 55038, and how
Work in 55038 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 55038
55038 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55038 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55038, month by month
55038 sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 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 | 56° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55038
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 22 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 55038
Schools across 55038 average a B, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Centerville ElementaryA · 72% proficient
- Rice Lake ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Scandia ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chippewa Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Mahtomedi MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Stillwater Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Mahtomedi Senior HighA · 72% proficient
- Stillwater Area High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Centennial High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55038 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55038 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 55038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55038 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes and 21% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 77% of zip codes and health care access beats 90%.
Common questions about living in 55038
Is 55038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55038 ranks 599th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, what local pay buys, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $436,634. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $135,477 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 55038 safe?
Yes, 55038 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55038?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 122 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of zip codes.
Is 55038 good for families?
Schools beat 71% of zip codes, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55038 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.
55038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55038 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.