Best Places55359, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55359, 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.
55359 ranks 1,256th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55359
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.
55359's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55359 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$146,636 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 92% of zip codes
Where 55359 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55359
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55359 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $146,636; 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 55359's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 55359
55359 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55359.
Who works in 55359, and how
Work in 55359 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55359
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55359.
What the weather is like in 55359, month by month
55359 sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55359
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 24 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 55359
Schools across 55359 average an A, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Delano ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Hilltop Primary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Orono Intermediate ElementaryA · 69% proficient
Top middle schools
- Delano Intermediate SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Grandview Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Orono MiddleA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Orono Senior HighA · 71% proficient
- Watertown Mayer HighA− · 67% proficient
- Delano High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55359 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55359 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 55359 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55359
Is 55359 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55359 ranks 1,256th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55359 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $571,067. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $146,636 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 55359 safe?
Yes, 55359 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
Compare 55359 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55359. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55359 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.
55359 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55359: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55359: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55359: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55359: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55359 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.