Best Places55362, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55362, 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.
55362 ranks 3,738th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55362
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.
55362's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55362 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 55362 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 40% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 43% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55362
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55362 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,572, 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 55362's effective rate of 0.82%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55362
55362 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55362.
Who works in 55362, and how
Work in 55362 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. 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 55362
55362 has more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55362 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55362, month by month
55362 sees roughly 126 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 55362
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55362
Schools across 55362 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Monticello Nature Based EducationA+ · 83% proficient
- Pinewood Elementary - SnwA+ · 75% proficient
- Fieldstone Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Michael-albertville Middle WestA− · 58% proficient
- Becker MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Monticello MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- St. Michael-albertville Senior HighA · 68% proficient
- Becker Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Monticello Senior HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55362 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55362 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 55362 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55362 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55362
Is 55362 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55362 ranks 3,738th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, low crime, and civic engagement, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55362 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,452. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $96,572 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 55362 safe?
Yes, 55362 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $165 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55362?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 24 with lows near 9. That works out to about 126 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of zip codes.
Is 55362 good for families?
Schools beat 77% of zip codes, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,079 a month.
Compare 55362 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55362. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55362 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.
55362 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55362: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55362: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55362: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55362: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55362 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.