Best Places56090, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56090, 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.
56090 ranks 12,461st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56090
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.
56090's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56090 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 75% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 116 pleasant days a year, better than 73% of zip codes
Where 56090 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56090
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56090 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,980, 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 56090'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 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 56090
56090 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 56090.
Who works in 56090, and how
Work in 56090 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 56090
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56090.
What the weather is like in 56090, month by month
56090 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 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 | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 56090
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56090
Schools across 56090 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lk Crystal Wellcome Memorial ElA · 70% proficient
- Madelia ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Truman ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Maple River SecondaryA− · 59% proficient
- Lk Crystal-wellcome Memorial SecC+ · 39% proficient
- Madelia SecondaryC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56090 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56090 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 56090 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56090
Is 56090 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56090 ranks 12,461st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56090 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $194,022. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $81,980 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 56090 safe?
Yes, 56090 is safer than 60% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $280 per resident a year.
Compare 56090 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56090. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56090 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.
56090 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56090: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56090: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56090: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56090: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56090 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.