Best Places55609, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55609, 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.
55609 ranks 4,111th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55609
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.
55609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55609 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 55609 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55609
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,912, 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 55609's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 55609
55609 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55609.
Who works in 55609, and how
Work in 55609 centers on hospitality & food and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 55609
55609 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55609 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55609, month by month
55609 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| October | 54° | 45° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 55609
The nearest airport, Duluth International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55609
Schools across 55609 average a B, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Minnehaha ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ordean East Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Two Harbors SecondaryC+ · 39% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55609 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55609 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 55609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55609
Is 55609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55609 ranks 4,111th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, a strong job market, and clean air, and lowest on cell coverage and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $391,900. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $106,912 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 55609 safe?
Yes, 55609 is safer than 71% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $249 per resident a year.
Compare 55609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55609 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.
55609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55609 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.