Best Places56628, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56628, 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.
56628 ranks 21,051st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56628
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.
56628's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56628 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 56628 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56628
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56628 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $58,827; 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 56628's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 56628
56628 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 56628.
Who works in 56628, and how
Work in 56628 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 56628
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56628.
What the weather is like in 56628, month by month
56628 sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 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 | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 54° | 44° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 56628
The nearest airport, Range Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 195 miles away.
The best schools in and around 56628
Schools across 56628 average a B−, better than 51% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- King ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Bigfork ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Grand Rapids Senior HighA− · 63% proficient
- Bigfork SecondaryC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56628 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56628 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 56628 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56628
Is 56628 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56628 ranks 21,051st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, state infrastructure, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 56628 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $253,064. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $58,827 median income, cost of living beats 19% of zip codes.
Is 56628 safe?
Yes, 56628 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare 56628 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56628. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56628 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.
56628 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56628: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56628: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56628: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56628: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56628 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.