Best Places56013, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56013, 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.
56013 ranks 10,586th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56013
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.
56013's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56013 ranks high
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 56013 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56013
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56013 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,252, 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 56013's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56013
56013 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 56013.
Who works in 56013, and how
Work in 56013 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 83%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 56013
56013 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56013 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56013, month by month
56013 sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 61° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 56013
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 51 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 56013
Schools across 56013 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fairmont Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Granada Huntley East Chain Elem SchC · 32% proficient
- Blue Earth Area ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Granada Huntley East Chain Middle SC · 34% proficient
- Blue Earth Area MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairmont Jr./sr. High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Blue Earth Area SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Granada Huntley East Chain High SchC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56013 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56013 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 56013 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56013
Is 56013 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56013 ranks 10,586th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, civic engagement, and state infrastructure, and lowest on internet speeds and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56013 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $160,737. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $72,252 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 56013 safe?
56013 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $351 per resident a year.
Compare 56013 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56013. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56013 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.
56013 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56013: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56013: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56013: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56013: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56013 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.