Best Places55746, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55746, 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.
55746 ranks 17,373rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55746
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.
55746's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55746 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 121 pleasant days a year, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 55746 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Household income$60,631 median, better than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55746
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55746 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,631, 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 55746's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55746
55746 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 55746.
Who works in 55746, and how
Work in 55746 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 55746
55746 has more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55746 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55746, month by month
55746 sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 19, with lows near 0. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19° | 9° | 0° |
| April | 49° | 36° | 26° |
| July | 79° | 65° | 52° |
| October | 52° | 42° | 34° |
Flying in and out of 55746
The nearest airport, Range Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 175 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55746
Schools across 55746 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Vaughan ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Cherry ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chisholm ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Hibbing HighB · 45% proficient
- Mountain Iron-buhl SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Chisholm SecondaryC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55746 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55746 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 55746 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55746
Is 55746 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55746 ranks 17,373rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55746 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,289. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $60,631 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 55746 safe?
55746 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $470 per resident a year.
Compare 55746 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55746. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55746 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.
55746 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55746: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55746: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55746: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55746: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55746 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.