Best Places55087, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55087, 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.
55087 ranks 7,634th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55087
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.
55087's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55087 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 55087 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55087
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55087 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,556, 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 55087's effective rate of 0.70%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55087
55087 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55087.
Who works in 55087, and how
Work in 55087 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 55087
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55087.
What the weather is like in 55087, month by month
55087 sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55087
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 45 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 55087
Schools across 55087 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Waterville ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Jefferson ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Morristown ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Waterville-elysian-morristown Jr.C · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Waterville-elysian-morristown Sr.B− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55087 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55087 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 55087 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55087
Is 55087 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55087 ranks 7,634th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, health care access, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55087 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $420,795. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $91,556 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 55087 safe?
Yes, 55087 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $217 per resident a year.
Compare 55087 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55087. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55087 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.
55087 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55087: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55087: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55087: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55087: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55087 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.