Best Places55109, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55109, 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.
55109 ranks 5,351st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55109
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.
55109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55109 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 55109 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55109
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,887, 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 55109's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 55109
55109'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 55109.
Who works in 55109, and how
Work in 55109 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 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55109
55109 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55109 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55109, month by month
55109 sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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 | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55109
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 13 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 55109
Schools across 55109 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Matoska InternationalB+ · 55% proficient
- Willow Lane ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Cowern ElementaryC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sunrise Park MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Roseville Area MiddleC · 32% proficient
- John Glenn MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Roseville Area Senior HighB+ · 51% proficient
- North Senior HighB · 46% proficient
- White Bear South Campus SeniorC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55109 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55109 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 55109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55109 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55109
Is 55109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55109 ranks 5,351st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and fast internet, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $320,287. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $88,887 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 55109 safe?
55109 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $406 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55109?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 129 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of zip codes.
Is 55109 good for families?
Schools beat 32% of zip codes, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55109 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.
55109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55109 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.