Best Places55909, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55909, 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.
55909 ranks 5,005th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55909
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.
55909's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55909 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 202 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 55909 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55909
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55909 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,343, 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 55909's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 55909
55909 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55909.
Who works in 55909, and how
Work in 55909 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 55909
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55909.
What the weather is like in 55909, month by month
55909 sees roughly 202 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 12° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 37° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55909
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55909
Schools across 55909 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Southland ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southland MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Southland Senior HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55909 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55909 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 55909 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55909
Is 55909 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55909 ranks 5,005th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, state infrastructure, and low crime, and lowest on civic engagement and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55909 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $225,067. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $94,343 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 55909 safe?
Yes, 55909 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $183 per resident a year.
Compare 55909 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55909. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55909 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.
55909 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55909: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55909: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55909: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55909: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55909 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.