Best Places56043, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56043, 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.
56043 ranks 3,988th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56043
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.
56043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56043 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 201 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 56043 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC, better than only 32% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56043
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $99,499, 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 56043's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 56043
56043 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 56043.
Who works in 56043, and how
Work in 56043 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 56043
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56043.
What the weather is like in 56043, month by month
56043 sees roughly 201 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 56043
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56043
Schools across 56043 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Halverson ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Glenville Emmons ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southwest MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Albert Lea Senior HighC− · 29% proficient
- Glenville-emmons SecondaryD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56043 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 56043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56043
Is 56043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56043 ranks 3,988th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low crime, and state infrastructure, and lowest on tree cover and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,450. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $99,499 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 56043 safe?
Yes, 56043 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $154 per resident a year.
Compare 56043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56043 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.
56043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56043 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.