Best Places55306, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55306, 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.
55306 ranks 3,067th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55306
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.
55306's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55306 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 55306 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55306
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55306 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,447, 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 55306's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 55306
55306'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 55306.
Who works in 55306, and how
Work in 55306 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 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 55306
55306 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55306 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55306, month by month
55306 sees roughly 127 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 | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 55306
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 11 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 55306
Schools across 55306 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Hills ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Orchard Lake ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Southview ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kenwood Trail Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Valley Middle School Of StemC · 34% proficient
- Eagle Ridge Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakeville North HighA− · 63% proficient
- Lakeville South HighA− · 59% proficient
- School Of Environmental StudiesB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55306 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55306 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 55306 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55306
Is 55306 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55306 ranks 3,067th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, what local pay buys, and biking, 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 55306 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $383,621. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $104,447 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 55306 safe?
Yes, 55306 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
Compare 55306 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55306. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55306 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.
55306 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55306: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55306: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55306: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55306: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55306 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.