Best Places55434, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55434, 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.
55434 ranks 3,471st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55434
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.
55434's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55434 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 55434 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 38% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 41% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55434
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55434 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,628, 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 55434's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55434
55434 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55434.
Who works in 55434, and how
Work in 55434 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 55434
55434 has more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55434 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55434, month by month
55434 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55434
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 20 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 55434
Schools across 55434 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elementary LighthouseA+ · 85% proficient
- Eisenhower ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Madison ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roosevelt MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Northdale MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- Westwood Intermediate & Middle SchB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Secondary LighthouseA+ · 80% proficient
- Blaine High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55434 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55434 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 55434 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55434 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55434
Is 55434 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55434 ranks 3,471st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and state infrastructure, 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 55434 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $283,425. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $91,628 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 55434 safe?
Yes, 55434 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55434?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 124 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of zip codes.
Is 55434 good for families?
Schools beat 77% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55434 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55434. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55434 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.
55434 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55434: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55434: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55434: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55434: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55434 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.