Best Places55308, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55308, 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.
55308 ranks 2,907th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55308
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.
55308's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55308 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 55308 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 28% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,041 a month, better than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55308
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55308 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,541, 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 55308's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 55308
55308 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 55308.
Who works in 55308, and how
Work in 55308 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 55308
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55308.
What the weather is like in 55308, month by month
55308 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 55308
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 48 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55308
Schools across 55308 average an A−, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Independence ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Becker Intermediate ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Becker MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Big Lake Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Princeton Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Becker Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Princeton High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Big Lake Senior HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55308 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55308 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 55308 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55308
Is 55308 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55308 ranks 2,907th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55308 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $349,176. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $116,541 median income, cost of living beats 93% of zip codes.
Is 55308 safe?
Yes, 55308 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 55308 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55308. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55308 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.
55308 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55308: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55308: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55308: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55308: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55308 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.