Best Places55947, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55947, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
55947 ranks 7,600th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55947
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.
55947's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55947 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 55947 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55947
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55947 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,595, 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 55947's effective rate of 1.16%, 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 55947
55947 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 55947.
Who works in 55947, and how
Work in 55947 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 55947
55947 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55947 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55947, month by month
55947 sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 55947
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55947
Schools across 55947 average a B−, better than 54% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Houston ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- La Crescent-hokah ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Washington-kosciusko ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Winona MiddleC · 32% proficient
- La Crescent-hokah Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- La Crescent Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Houston SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
- Winona Senior HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55947 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55947 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 55947 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 55947
Is 55947 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55947 ranks 7,600th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, state infrastructure, and health care access, and lowest on taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 55947 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $297,238. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $88,595 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 55947 safe?
Yes, 55947 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
Compare 55947 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55947. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55947 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.
55947 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55947: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55947: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55947: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55947: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55947 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.