Best Places56001, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56001, 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.
56001 ranks 6,208th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56001
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.
56001's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56001 ranks high
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 56001 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 37% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56001
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56001 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,131, 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 56001'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56001
56001 runs younger 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 56001.
Who works in 56001, and how
Work in 56001 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 56001
56001 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 56001 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56001, month by month
56001 sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 56001
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 63 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 17.5 million passengers in 2025, with 195 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 56001
Schools across 56001 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lk Crystal Wellcome Memorial ElA · 70% proficient
- Bridges Community ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- St. Clair ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dakota Meadows Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Prairie Winds Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Mankato West Senior HighA− · 65% proficient
- Maple River SecondaryA− · 59% proficient
- Mankato East Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56001 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56001 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 56001 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 56001 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 56001
Is 56001 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56001 ranks 6,208th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and biking, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56001 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $273,576. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $76,131 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 56001 safe?
Yes, 56001 is safer than 77% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $259 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 56001?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 11. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of zip codes.
Is 56001 good for families?
Schools beat 77% of zip codes, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare 56001 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56001. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56001 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.
56001 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56001: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56001: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56001: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56001: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56001 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.