Best Places55939, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55939, 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.
55939 ranks 13,934th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 55939
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.
55939's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55939 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 55939 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55939
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55939 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,802, 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 55939's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 55939
55939 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 55939.
Who works in 55939, and how
Work in 55939 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 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 55939
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 55939.
What the weather is like in 55939, month by month
55939 sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 17° | 11° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 36° |
| July | 81° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 55939
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55939
Schools across 55939 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mabel-canton ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Fillmore Central ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Mabel-canton SecondaryA− · 62% proficient
- Fillmore Central Senior HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55939 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55939 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 55939 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55939
Is 55939 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55939 ranks 13,934th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and civic engagement, and lowest on tree cover and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55939 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,480. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $70,802 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 55939 safe?
Yes, 55939 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
Compare 55939 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55939. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55939 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.
55939 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55939: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55939: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55939: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55939: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55939 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.