Best Places55356, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55356, 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.
55356 ranks 323rd 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 55356
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.
55356's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55356 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$181,311 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 55356 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
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55356
A household needs to earn about $217,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55356 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $181,311, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 55356's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 55356
55356 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55356.
Who works in 55356, and how
Work in 55356 centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55356
55356 has more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55356 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55356, month by month
55356 sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55356
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 19 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 55356
Schools across 55356 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Greenwood ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Orono Intermediate ElementaryA · 69% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wayzata West MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Orono MiddleA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayzata HighA · 79% proficient
- Orono Senior HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55356 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55356 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 55356 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55356
Is 55356 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55356 ranks 323rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and civic engagement, 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 55356 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $812,975. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $181,311 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 55356 safe?
Yes, 55356 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $281 per resident a year.
Compare 55356 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55356. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55356 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.
55356 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55356: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55356: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55356: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55356: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55356 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.