Best Places56011, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56011, 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.
56011 ranks 5,559th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56011
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.
56011's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56011 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 56011 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,608 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56011
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56011 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,550, 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 56011's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56011
56011 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56011.
Who works in 56011, and how
Work in 56011 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 56011
56011 has more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56011 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56011, month by month
56011 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 56011
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 32 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 56011
Schools across 56011 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Raven Stream ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Oak Crest ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Jordan ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jordan MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- New Prague Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Le Sueur-henderson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- New Prague Senior HighA− · 66% proficient
- Belle Plaine Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Jordan High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56011 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56011 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 56011 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56011
Is 56011 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56011 ranks 5,559th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, state infrastructure, and civic engagement, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56011 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,698. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $98,550 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 56011 safe?
Yes, 56011 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 56011 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56011. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56011 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.
56011 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56011: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56011: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56011: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56011: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56011 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.