Best Places56571, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56571, 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.
56571 ranks 9,279th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 56571
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.
56571's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56571 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 148 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 56571 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56571
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56571 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,381, 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 56571's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 56571
56571 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 56571.
Who works in 56571, and how
Work in 56571 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 56571
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56571.
What the weather is like in 56571, month by month
56571 sees roughly 148 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 56571
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56571
Schools across 56571 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Battle Lake ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Heart Of The Lake ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Henning ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie Wind MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Wadena-deer Creek 5th And 6th GradeB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Perham Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Battle Lake SecondaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Henning SecondaryB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56571 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56571 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 56571 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56571
Is 56571 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56571 ranks 9,279th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on empty homes 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 56571 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,147. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $79,381 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 56571 safe?
Yes, 56571 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $208 per resident a year.
Compare 56571 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56571. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56571 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.
56571 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56571: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56571: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56571: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56571: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56571 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.