Best Places56514, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56514, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
56514 ranks 3,818th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56514
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.
56514's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56514 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 141 pleasant days a year, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 56514 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56514
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56514 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,304, 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 56514's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 56514
56514 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56514.
Who works in 56514, and how
Work in 56514 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 56514
56514 has more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 56514 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 56514, month by month
56514 sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 5. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 12° | 5° |
| April | 51° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 57° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56514
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56514
Schools across 56514 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Barnesville ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Viking Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Rothsay ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dilworth-glyndon-felton Middle SchC+ · 39% proficient
- Horizon Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Barnesville SecondaryB+ · 58% proficient
- Hawley SecondaryB+ · 58% proficient
- Moorhead High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56514 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56514 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 56514 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56514
Is 56514 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56514 ranks 3,818th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, civic engagement, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56514 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $272,216. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $100,304 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 56514 safe?
Yes, 56514 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $238 per resident a year.
Compare 56514 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56514. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56514 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.
56514 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56514: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56514: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56514: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56514: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56514 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.