Best Places55354, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55354, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
55354 ranks 3,294th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55354
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.
55354's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55354 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 55354 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55354
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55354 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,805, 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 55354'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 55354
55354 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55354.
Who works in 55354, and how
Work in 55354 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 55354
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55354.
What the weather is like in 55354, month by month
55354 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 55354
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 40 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 55354
Schools across 55354 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lakeside ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- Lester Prairie ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gsl Junior High SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Glencoe-silver Lake Senior HighB · 47% proficient
- Lester Prairie SecondaryC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55354 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55354 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 55354 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55354
Is 55354 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55354 ranks 3,294th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and a strong job market, and lowest on taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55354 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $282,208. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $98,805 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 55354 safe?
Yes, 55354 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $150 per resident a year.
Compare 55354 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55354. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55354 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.
55354 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55354: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55354: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55354: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55354: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55354 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.