Best Places56434, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56434, 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.
56434 ranks 21,099th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56434
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.
56434's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56434 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 56434 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56434
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56434 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,412, 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 56434's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 56434
56434 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56434.
Who works in 56434, and how
Work in 56434 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 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 56434
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56434.
What the weather is like in 56434, month by month
56434 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 31° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 56434
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56434
Schools across 56434 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Verndale ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Staples-motley ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Motley-staples Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Staples-motley Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Verndale SecondaryD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56434 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56434 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 56434 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56434
Is 56434 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56434 ranks 21,099th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and low crime, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56434 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,450. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $70,412 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 56434 safe?
Yes, 56434 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $213 per resident a year.
Compare 56434 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56434. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56434 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.
56434 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56434: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56434: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56434: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56434: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56434 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.