Best Places56586, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56586, 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.
56586 ranks 10,873rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56586
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.
56586's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56586 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 146 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 56586 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56586
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56586 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $81,702; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 56586's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 56586
56586 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 56586.
Who works in 56586, and how
Work in 56586 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 56586
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56586.
What the weather is like in 56586, month by month
56586 sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 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 | 52° | 41° | 33° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 56586
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56586
Schools across 56586 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Battle Lake ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Underwood ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Ashby ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kennedy Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Kennedy High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Perham Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Battle Lake SecondaryB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56586 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56586 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 56586 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56586
Is 56586 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56586 ranks 10,873rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on internet speeds and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56586 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,979. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $81,702 median income, cost of living beats 59% of zip codes.
Is 56586 safe?
Yes, 56586 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $347 per resident a year.
Compare 56586 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56586. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56586 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.
56586 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56586: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56586: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56586: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56586: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56586 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.