Best Places55731, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55731, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
55731 ranks 18,545th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55731
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.
55731's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55731 ranks high
- Short commute16.1 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 55731 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55731
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55731 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,677, 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 55731's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55731
55731 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 55731.
Who works in 55731, and how
Work in 55731 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 55731
55731 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55731 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55731, month by month
55731 sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 19, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19° | 10° | 2° |
| April | 47° | 36° | 26° |
| July | 78° | 66° | 54° |
| October | 51° | 43° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 55731
The nearest airport, Range Regional, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 218 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55731
Schools across 55731 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Washington ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Tower-soudan ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Minnehaha ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Memorial Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Memorial High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Wm. M. Kelley SecondaryB− · 40% proficient
- Northeast Range SecondaryD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55731 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55731 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 55731 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55731
Is 55731 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55731 ranks 18,545th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55731 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $217,289. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $61,677 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 55731 safe?
55731 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $542 per resident a year.
Compare 55731 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55731. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55731 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.
55731 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55731: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55731: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55731: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55731: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55731 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.