Best Places56541, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56541, 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.
56541 ranks 20,579th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56541
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.
56541's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56541 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 56541 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56541
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56541 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,458, 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 56541'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56541
56541 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 56541.
Who works in 56541, and how
Work in 56541 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 56541
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56541.
What the weather is like in 56541, month by month
56541 sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| July | 80° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 54° | 45° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56541
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 210 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56541
Schools across 56541 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Norman County East ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Norman County East SecondaryC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56541 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56541 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 56541 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56541
Is 56541 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56541 ranks 20,579th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state infrastructure, and the weather, and lowest on civic engagement and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56541 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,500. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $66,458 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 56541 safe?
56541 is safer than 52% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $314 per resident a year.
Compare 56541 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56541. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56541 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.
56541 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56541: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56541: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56541: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56541: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56541 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.