Best Places55301, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55301, 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.
55301 ranks 855th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55301
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.
55301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55301 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 55301 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Short commute30.8 minutes each way, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55301
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $131,348, 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 55301'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 55301
55301 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55301.
Who works in 55301, and how
Work in 55301 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 55301
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55301.
What the weather is like in 55301, month by month
55301 sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55301
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 33 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55301
Schools across 55301 average an A, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fieldstone Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Rogers ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Big Woods ElementaryA · 69% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Michael-albertville Middle EastA · 60% proficient
- Rogers Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- St. Michael-albertville Middle WestA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- St. Michael-albertville Senior HighA · 68% proficient
- Rogers Senior HighA− · 64% proficient
- Kaleidoscope Charter High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55301 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 55301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55301
Is 55301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55301 ranks 855th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and a strong job market, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $370,750. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $131,348 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 55301 safe?
Yes, 55301 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $253 per resident a year.
Compare 55301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55301 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.
55301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55301 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.