Best Places56253, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56253, 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.
56253 ranks 9,958th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56253
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.
56253's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56253 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 138 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
Where 56253 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56253
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56253 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,252, 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 56253's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 56253
56253 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 56253.
Who works in 56253, and how
Work in 56253 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 56253
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56253.
What the weather is like in 56253, month by month
56253 sees roughly 138 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 56253
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56253
Schools across 56253 average a B−, better than 55% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Buffalo Lake-hector ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Bold-bird Island ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- A.c.g.c. ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Acgc Elementary Grades 5 And 6B · 45% proficient
- Redwood Valley MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
- Willmar Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Bold Senior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Willmar Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- A.c.g.c. SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56253 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56253 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 56253 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56253
Is 56253 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56253 ranks 9,958th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and heat safety, and lowest on empty homes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56253 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $230,370. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $85,252 median income, cost of living beats 63% of zip codes.
Is 56253 safe?
Yes, 56253 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $166 per resident a year.
Compare 56253 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56253. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56253 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.
56253 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56253: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56253: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56253: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56253: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56253 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.