Best Places56116, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56116, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
56116 ranks 7,925th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56116
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.
56116's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56116 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 56116 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56116
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56116 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,383, 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 56116's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 56116
56116'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 56116.
Who works in 56116, and how
Work in 56116 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 56116
56116 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56116 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56116, month by month
56116 sees roughly 127 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° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 60° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56116
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56116
Schools across 56116 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hills-beaver Creek ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Luverne ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Luverne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Hills-beaver Creek SecondaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Luverne Senior HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56116 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56116 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 56116 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56116
Is 56116 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56116 ranks 7,925th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, state infrastructure, and clean air, and lowest on noise and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56116 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,503. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $93,383 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 56116 safe?
Yes, 56116 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare 56116 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56116. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56116 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.
56116 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56116: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56116: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56116: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56116: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56116 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.