Best Places55436, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55436, 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.
55436 ranks 255th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55436
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.
55436's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55436 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$157,162 median, better than 97% of zip codes
Where 55436 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 47% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55436
A household needs to earn about $180,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55436 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $157,162, 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 55436'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 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 55436
55436 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55436.
Who works in 55436, and how
Work in 55436 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55436
55436 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55436 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55436, month by month
55436 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55436
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 8 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 55436
Schools across 55436 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Normandale ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Xinxing AcademyA · 70% proficient
- Highlands ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Valley View MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Hopkins West Junior HighA · 60% proficient
- Hopkins North Junior HighB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Edina Senior HighA · 75% proficient
- Hopkins Senior HighB+ · 55% proficient
- St. Louis Park Senior HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55436 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55436 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 55436 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55436
Is 55436 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55436 ranks 255th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, civic engagement, and an educated workforce, 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 55436 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $667,504. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $157,162 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 55436 safe?
55436 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare 55436 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55436. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55436 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.
55436 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55436: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55436: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55436: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55436: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55436 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.