Best Places55338, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55338, 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.
55338 ranks 7,370th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55338
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.
55338's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55338 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Household income$103,515 median, better than 82% of zip codes
Where 55338 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55338
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55338 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,515, 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 55338'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 55338
55338 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55338.
Who works in 55338, and how
Work in 55338 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 55338
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55338.
What the weather is like in 55338, month by month
55338 sees roughly 90 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 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 | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55338
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 41 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 55338
Schools across 55338 average a B−, better than 52% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Central ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Park ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Sibley East-gaylord ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Le Sueur-henderson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Central MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Sibley East Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Le Sueur-henderson High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Central Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Sibley East-arlington Senior HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55338 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55338 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 55338 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55338
Is 55338 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55338 ranks 7,370th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low crime, and what local pay buys, and lowest on internet speeds and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55338 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $368,819. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $103,515 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 55338 safe?
Yes, 55338 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
Compare 55338 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55338. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55338 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.
55338 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55338: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55338: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55338: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55338: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55338 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.