Best Places55431, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55431, 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.
55431 ranks 2,157th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55431
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.
55431's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55431 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 55431 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55431
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55431 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,607, 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 55431's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55431
55431 runs older 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 55431.
Who works in 55431, and how
Work in 55431 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55431
55431 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55431 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55431, month by month
55431 sees roughly 103 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 55431
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 6 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 55431
Schools across 55431 average a B−, better than 54% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hillcrest ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Oak Grove ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Washburn ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Olson MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Oak Grove MiddleC · 34% proficient
- Valley View MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Kennedy Senior HighC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55431 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55431 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 55431 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55431
Is 55431 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55431 ranks 2,157th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and fast internet, 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 55431 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $375,588. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $106,607 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 55431 safe?
55431 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $344 per resident a year.
Compare 55431 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55431. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55431 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.
55431 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55431: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55431: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55431: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55431: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55431 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.