Best Places55912, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55912, 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.
55912 ranks 9,016th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55912
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.
55912's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55912 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 201 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute18.7 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 55912 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC, better than only 35% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 37% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55912
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55912 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,446, 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 55912's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 55912
55912's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 55912.
Who works in 55912, and how
Work in 55912 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. 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 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 55912
55912 has more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 55912 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55912, month by month
55912 sees roughly 201 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 55912
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55912
Schools across 55912 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Blooming Prairie ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Southland ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Southgate ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southland MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
- I.j. Holton Intermediate SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Southwest MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Austin Senior HighC+ · 36% proficient
- Blooming Prairie SecondaryC+ · 35% proficient
- Southland Senior HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55912 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55912 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 55912 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55912 suits
Families
Schools land around the 35th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 55912
Is 55912 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55912 ranks 9,016th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55912 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,651. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $73,446 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 55912 safe?
Yes, 55912 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $274 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55912?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 201 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 55912 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 55912 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55912. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55912 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.
55912 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55912: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55912: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55912: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55912: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55912 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.