Best Places56371, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56371, 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.
56371 ranks 6,705th 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 56371
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.
56371's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56371 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 56371 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,847 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56371
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56371 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,042, 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 56371's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 56371
56371 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56371.
Who works in 56371, and how
Work in 56371 centers on manufacturing 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 85%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 56371
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56371.
What the weather is like in 56371, month by month
56371 sees roughly 125 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 56371
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56371
Schools across 56371 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Paynesville ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Paynesville Area High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56371 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56371 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 56371 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56371
Is 56371 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56371 ranks 6,705th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, cell coverage, and a strong job market, and lowest on childcare costs and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56371 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,647. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $83,042 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 56371 safe?
Yes, 56371 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $205 per resident a year.
Compare 56371 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56371. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56371 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.
56371 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56371: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56371: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56371: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56371: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56371 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.