Best PlacesAitkin, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Aitkin, 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.
Aitkin ranks 22,168th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Aitkin
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.
Aitkin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Aitkin ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of towns
- Short commute19.3 minutes each way, better than 90% of towns
- BikingBetter than 90% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 135 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of towns
Where Aitkin ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 18% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Household income$59,566 median, better than only 26% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Aitkin
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Aitkin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,566, 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 Aitkin's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 Aitkin
Aitkin 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 Aitkin.
Who works in Aitkin, and how
Work in Aitkin centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Aitkin
Aitkin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of towns and more parkland per resident than 94% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Aitkin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Aitkin, month by month
Aitkin sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 13° | 4° |
| April | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| July | 80° | 68° | 56° |
| October | 54° | 44° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Aitkin
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around Aitkin
Schools across Aitkin average a B+, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cuyuna Range ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Rippleside ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Garfield ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Forestview MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Brainerd Senior HighA− · 59% proficient
- Aitkin Secondary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Crosby-ironton SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Aitkin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Aitkin 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 Aitkin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Aitkin
Is Aitkin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Aitkin ranks 22,168th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Aitkin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $263,508. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $59,566 median income, cost of living beats 18% of towns.
Is Aitkin safe?
Yes, Aitkin is safer than 58% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
Compare Aitkin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Aitkin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Aitkin 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.
Aitkin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Aitkin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Aitkin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Aitkin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Aitkin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Aitkin 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.