Best Places55403, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55403, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
55403 ranks 8,942nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55403
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.
55403's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55403 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 55403 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55403
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55403 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,160, 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 55403's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 55403
55403 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55403.
Who works in 55403, and how
Work in 55403 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 47%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in 55403
55403 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55403 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55403, month by month
55403 sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55403
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 7 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 55403
Schools across 55403 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Webster ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
- Emerson ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Cityview ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northeast MiddleD− · 17% proficient
- Anwatin MiddleD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Fair HighB− · 43% proficient
- Wellstone International HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55403 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55403 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 55403 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55403
Is 55403 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55403 ranks 8,942nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and walkability, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55403 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $365,840. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $71,160 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 55403 safe?
55403 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $911 per resident a year.
Compare 55403 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55403. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55403 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.
55403 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55403: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55403: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55403: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55403: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55403 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.