Best Places55340, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55340, 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.
55340 ranks 195th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55340
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.
55340's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55340 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$176,167 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 55340 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55340
A household needs to earn about $181,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55340 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $176,167; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 55340's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 55340
55340's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 55340.
Who works in 55340, and how
Work in 55340 centers on manufacturing and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55340
55340 has more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55340 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55340, month by month
55340 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55340
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 20 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 55340
Schools across 55340 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gleason Lake ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Greenwood ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Rush Creek ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wayzata Central MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Delano Intermediate SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Wayzata West MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayzata HighA · 79% proficient
- Orono Senior HighA · 71% proficient
- Delano High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55340 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55340 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 55340 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55340
Is 55340 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55340 ranks 195th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55340 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $677,050. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $176,167 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 55340 safe?
55340 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
Compare 55340 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55340. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55340 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.
55340 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55340: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55340: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55340: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55340: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55340 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.