Best Places55904, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55904, 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.
55904 ranks 6,071st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55904
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.
55904's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55904 ranks high
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 55904 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 41% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 42% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55904
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55904 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,102, 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 55904's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55904
55904 runs younger 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 55904.
Who works in 55904, and how
Work in 55904 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 55904
55904 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55904 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55904, month by month
55904 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 55904
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55904
Schools across 55904 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Dover-eyota ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Washington District-wide ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Chatfield Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kellogg MiddleB · 46% proficient
- Stewartville MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Dover-eyota Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Mayo Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Century Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Chatfield SecondaryB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55904 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55904 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 55904 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55904 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55904
Is 55904 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55904 ranks 6,071st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and heat safety, 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 55904 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,553. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $81,102 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 55904 safe?
Yes, 55904 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55904?
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 54% of zip codes.
Is 55904 good for families?
Schools beat 57% of zip codes, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare 55904 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55904. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55904 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.
55904 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55904: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55904: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55904: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55904: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55904 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.