Best Places55987, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 55987, 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.
55987 ranks 11,987th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 55987
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.
55987's strengths and weaknesses
Where 55987 ranks high
- Short commute15.0 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
Where 55987 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 38% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 38% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 55987
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 55987 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,337, 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 55987's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 55987
55987 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 55987.
Who works in 55987, and how
Work in 55987 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 55987
55987 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 55987 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 55987, month by month
55987 sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 55987
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around 55987
Schools across 55987 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Houston ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Lewiston-altura ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Bluffview MontessoriB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewiston-altura Intermediate ElB+ · 52% proficient
- Rushford-peterson MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Winona MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Houston SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
- Rushford-peterson Senior HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Winona Senior HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 55987 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
55987 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 55987 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 55987 suits
Common questions about living in 55987
Is 55987 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 55987 ranks 11,987th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and walkability, 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 55987 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $223,765. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $69,337 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 55987 safe?
55987 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $361 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 55987?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 28 with lows near 14. That works out to about 131 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of zip codes.
Is 55987 good for families?
Schools beat 49% of zip codes, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 55987 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 55987. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 55987 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.
55987 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 55987: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 55987: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 55987: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 55987: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
55987 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.