Best Places55901, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55901, 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.
55901 ranks 2,537th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55901
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.
55901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55901 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Short commute18.6 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 55901 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 36% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 41% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55901
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,451, 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 55901's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55901
55901 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55901.
Who works in 55901, and how
Work in 55901 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 55901
55901 has more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55901, month by month
55901 sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 38° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 55901
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55901
Schools across 55901 average a B, better than 67% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Byron Intermediate SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Pine Island ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Washington District-wide ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pine Island MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Byron Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Kellogg MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Pine Island SecondaryA− · 62% proficient
- Byron Senior High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Century Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55901 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 55901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55901 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55901
Is 55901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55901 ranks 2,537th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and biking, 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 55901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $318,398. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $101,451 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 55901 safe?
Yes, 55901 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55901?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 13. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of zip codes.
Is 55901 good for families?
Schools beat 67% of zip codes, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55901 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.
55901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55901 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.