Best Places56681, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 56681, 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.
56681 ranks 23,792nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 56681
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.
56681's strengths and weaknesses
Where 56681 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 56681 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 56681
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 56681 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $62,183; 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 56681's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 56681
56681 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 56681.
Who works in 56681, and how
Work in 56681 centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 56681
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 56681.
What the weather is like in 56681, month by month
56681 sees roughly 125 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 56681
The nearest airport, Bemidji Regional, is about 37 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 56681
Schools across 56681 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bigfork ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Bigfork SecondaryC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 56681 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
56681 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 56681 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 56681
Is 56681 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 56681 ranks 23,792nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, tree cover, and state infrastructure, and lowest on biking 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 56681 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,006. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $62,183 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 56681 safe?
56681 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $345 per resident a year.
Compare 56681 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 56681. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 56681 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.
56681 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 56681: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 56681: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 56681: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 56681: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
56681 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.