Best Places55421, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55421, 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.
55421 ranks 9,660th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55421
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.
55421's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55421 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 55421 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55421
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55421 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,163; 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 55421's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 55421
55421's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 55421.
Who works in 55421, and how
Work in 55421 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 55421
55421 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55421 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55421, month by month
55421 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55421
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 12 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 55421
Schools across 55421 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wilshire Park ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Stevenson ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Highland ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Anthony MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Fridley MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Prodeo Columbia Heights MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- St. Anthony Village Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Fair HighB− · 43% proficient
- Columbia Heights Senior HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55421 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55421 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 55421 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55421 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55421
Is 55421 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55421 ranks 9,660th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, transit, and biking, 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 55421 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,537. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $73,163 median income, cost of living beats 59% of zip codes.
Is 55421 safe?
55421 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55421?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 11. That works out to about 124 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of zip codes.
Is 55421 good for families?
Schools beat 16% of zip codes, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55421 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55421. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55421 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.
55421 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55421: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55421: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55421: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55421: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55421 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.