Best Places55902, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55902, 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.
55902 ranks 372nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55902
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.
55902's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55902 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$151,157 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 55902 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 48% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55902
A household needs to earn about $129,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55902 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $151,157, 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 55902's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 55902
55902 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 55902.
Who works in 55902, and how
Work in 55902 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 55902
55902 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55902 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55902, month by month
55902 sees roughly 89 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 55902
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55902
Schools across 55902 average a B−, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Byron Intermediate SchoolA · 69% proficient
- Washington District-wide ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Folwell ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Byron Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Stewartville MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- John Adams MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Byron Senior High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Mayo Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Stewartville Senior HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55902 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55902 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 55902 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55902 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55902
Is 55902 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55902 ranks 372nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, an educated workforce, and high incomes, 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 55902 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $476,814. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $151,157 median income, cost of living beats 99% of zip codes.
Is 55902 safe?
Yes, 55902 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55902?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 13. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of zip codes.
Is 55902 good for families?
Schools beat 65% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55902 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55902. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55902 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.
55902 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55902: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55902: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55902: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55902: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55902 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.