Best Places56312, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56312, 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.
56312 ranks 12,625th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56312
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.
56312's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56312 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 142 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 56312 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,659 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56312
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56312 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,899, 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 56312's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 56312
56312 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56312.
Who works in 56312, and how
Work in 56312 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 56312
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56312.
What the weather is like in 56312, month by month
56312 sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 14° | 6° |
| April | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 57° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56312
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56312
Schools across 56312 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Prairie Woods ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Paynesville ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Melrose ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- New London-spicer MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Melrose MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- New London-spicer Sr.B+ · 57% proficient
- Sauk Centre SecondaryB · 50% proficient
- Melrose SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56312 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56312 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 56312 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56312
Is 56312 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56312 ranks 12,625th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and heat safety, and lowest on childcare costs and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56312 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,645. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $70,899 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 56312 safe?
Yes, 56312 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $228 per resident a year.
Compare 56312 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56312. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56312 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.
56312 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56312: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56312: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56312: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56312: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56312 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.