Best Places55790, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55790, 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.
55790 ranks 17,971st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55790
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.
55790's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55790 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 136 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of zip codes
Where 55790 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55790
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55790 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,040, 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 55790's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 55790
55790 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 55790.
Who works in 55790, and how
Work in 55790 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 55790
55790 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55790 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55790, month by month
55790 sees roughly 136 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 11° | 2° |
| April | 48° | 37° | 27° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 52° | 43° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 55790
The nearest airport, Range Regional, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 207 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55790
Schools across 55790 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Woods ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Tower-soudan ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Babbitt ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Mesabi East SecondaryC · 33% proficient
- North Woods SecondaryC · 32% proficient
- Vermilion Country SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55790 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55790 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 55790 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55790
Is 55790 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55790 ranks 17,971st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, health care access, and clean air, 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 55790 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $335,045. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $74,040 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 55790 safe?
55790 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $371 per resident a year.
Compare 55790 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55790. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55790 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.
55790 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55790: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55790: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55790: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55790: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55790 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.