Best Places56482, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56482, 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.
56482 ranks 13,120th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56482
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.
56482's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56482 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 56482 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Household income$62,783 median, better than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56482
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56482 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,783, 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 56482's effective rate of 0.95%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56482
56482's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 56482.
Who works in 56482, and how
Work in 56482 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 56482
56482 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 56482 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56482, month by month
56482 sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 11° | 3° |
| April | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| July | 79° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 55° | 44° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 56482
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56482
Schools across 56482 average a B−, better than 54% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sebeka ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Bertha ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- New York Mills ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wadena-deer Creek 5th And 6th GradeB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Wadena-deer Creek Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Sebeka SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Bertha SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56482 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56482 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 56482 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56482
Is 56482 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56482 ranks 13,120th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on noise and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56482 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,577. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $62,783 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 56482 safe?
Yes, 56482 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
Compare 56482 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56482. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56482 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.
56482 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56482: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56482: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56482: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56482: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56482 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.