Best Places56386, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56386, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
56386 ranks 25,718th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56386
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.
56386's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56386 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 56386 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Short commute32.7 minutes each way, better than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56386
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56386 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,537, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 56386'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 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 56386
56386 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 56386.
Who works in 56386, and how
Work in 56386 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 56386
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56386.
What the weather is like in 56386, month by month
56386 sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 80° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56386
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56386
Schools across 56386 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Isle ElementaryC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Onamia High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Isle SecondaryC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56386 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56386 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 56386 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56386
Is 56386 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56386 ranks 25,718th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and quiet, and lowest on empty homes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56386 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $289,315. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $57,537 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 56386 safe?
56386 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $313 per resident a year.
Compare 56386 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56386. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56386 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.
56386 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56386: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56386: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56386: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56386: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56386 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.