Best Places56143, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56143, 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.
56143 ranks 7,861st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56143
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.
56143's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56143 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute17.0 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 132 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 56143 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 40% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56143
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56143 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,637, 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 56143's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56143
56143 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 56143.
Who works in 56143, and how
Work in 56143 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 56143
56143 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56143 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56143, month by month
56143 sees roughly 132 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° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 56143
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 84 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56143
Schools across 56143 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasantview ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Riverside ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Windom Area ElementaryB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windom MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
- Jackson County Central MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Windom Senior HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Jackson County Central Senior HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56143 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56143 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 56143 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56143
Is 56143 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56143 ranks 7,861st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56143 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,648. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $78,637 median income, cost of living beats 75% of zip codes.
Is 56143 safe?
Yes, 56143 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $252 per resident a year.
Compare 56143 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56143. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56143 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.
56143 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56143: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56143: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56143: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56143: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56143 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.