Best Places56207, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56207, 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.
56207 ranks 10,725th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56207
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.
56207's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56207 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute14.5 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 140 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 56207 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56207
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56207 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,024, 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 56207's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56207
56207 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56207.
Who works in 56207, and how
Work in 56207 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 56207
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56207.
What the weather is like in 56207, month by month
56207 sees roughly 140 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 13° | 6° |
| April | 53° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56207
The nearest airport, Watertown Regional, is about 69 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56207
Schools across 56207 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Morris Area ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Chokio-alberta ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Morris Area SecondaryB · 47% proficient
- Chokio-alberta SecondaryC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56207 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56207 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 56207 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56207
Is 56207 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56207 ranks 10,725th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56207 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $120,977. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $105,024 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 56207 safe?
56207 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $353 per resident a year.
Compare 56207 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56207. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56207 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.
56207 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56207: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56207: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56207: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56207: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56207 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.