Best Places56003, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56003, 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.
56003 ranks 2,711th 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 56003
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.
56003's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56003 ranks high
- Short commute15.2 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 56003 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56003
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56003 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,420, 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 56003's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 56003
56003'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 56003.
Who works in 56003, and how
Work in 56003 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 56003
56003 has more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56003 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56003, month by month
56003 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 56003
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 56003
Schools across 56003 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lk Crystal Wellcome Memorial ElA · 70% proficient
- Bridges Community ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Nicollet Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dakota Meadows Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Prairie Winds Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- St. Peter Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Mankato West Senior HighA− · 65% proficient
- Mankato East Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
- St. Peter High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56003 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56003 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 56003 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56003
Is 56003 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56003 ranks 2,711th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, few empty homes, and civic engagement, 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 56003 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $297,891. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $88,420 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 56003 safe?
Yes, 56003 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare 56003 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56003. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56003 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.
56003 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56003: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56003: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56003: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56003: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56003 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.