Best Places55066, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55066, 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.
55066 ranks 10,467th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55066
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.
55066's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55066 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 85% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 55066 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55066
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55066 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,070, 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 55066's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 55066
55066 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 55066.
Who works in 55066, and how
Work in 55066 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 55066
55066 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55066 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55066, month by month
55066 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55066
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 40 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 55066
Schools across 55066 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Goodhue ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Cannon Falls ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Bluff View ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ellsworth MiddleB− · 43% proficient
- Twin Bluff SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Zumbrota-mazeppa Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Lincoln SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
- Ellsworth HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55066 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55066 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 55066 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55066
Is 55066 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55066 ranks 10,467th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and few empty homes, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55066 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,596. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $77,070 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 55066 safe?
Yes, 55066 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
Compare 55066 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55066. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55066 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.
55066 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55066: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55066: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55066: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55066: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55066 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.