Best PlacesApple Valley, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Apple Valley, 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.
Apple Valley ranks 212th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Apple Valley
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.
Apple Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Apple Valley ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of cities
- BikingBetter than 92% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of cities
Where Apple Valley ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 8% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 28% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 41% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 44% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Apple Valley
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Apple Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $109,659, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Apple Valley's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Apple Valley
Apple Valley's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Apple Valley.
Who works in Apple Valley, and how
Work in Apple Valley centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Apple Valley
Apple Valley has more parkland per resident than 95% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Apple Valley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Apple Valley, month by month
Apple Valley sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Apple Valley
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 17.5 million passengers in 2025, with 195 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Apple Valley
Schools across Apple Valley average a B, better than 66% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Shannon Park ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Thomas Lake ElementaryA · 62% proficient
- Highland ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rosemount MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Scott Highlands MiddleB+ · 47% proficient
- Black Hawk MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastview Senior HighA · 75% proficient
- Apple Valley Senior HighB+ · 55% proficient
- School Of Environmental StudiesB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Apple Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Apple Valley 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 Apple Valley against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Apple Valley suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of cities and health care access beats 81%.
Common questions about living in Apple Valley
Is Apple Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Apple Valley ranks 212th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, a stable housing market, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Apple Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $380,481. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $109,659 median income, cost of living beats 84% of cities.
Is Apple Valley safe?
Yes, Apple Valley is safer than 84% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $227 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Apple Valley?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 10. That works out to about 112 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of cities.
Is Apple Valley good for families?
Schools beat 66% of cities, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare Apple Valley with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Apple Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Apple Valley 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.
Apple Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Apple Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Apple Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Apple Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Apple Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Apple Valley 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.