Best PlacesBecker County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Becker County, 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.
Becker County ranks 964th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Becker County
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.
Becker County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Becker County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 146 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of counties
Where Becker County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 22% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Becker County
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Becker County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,847; 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 Becker County'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 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 Becker County
Becker County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Becker County.
Who works in Becker County, and how
Work in Becker County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Becker County
Becker County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Becker County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Becker County growing, and who is moving in?
Becker County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fargo, ND.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Becker County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Becker County, month by month
Becker County sees roughly 146 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| July | 80° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 54° | 45° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Becker County
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 183 miles away.
The best schools in and around Becker County
Schools across Becker County average a B−, better than 67% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Park Rapids Area Century ElementaryA · 64% proficient
- Sebeka ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Rossman ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie Wind MiddleA− · 54% proficient
- Park Rapids Area Century MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Detroit Lakes MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Detroit Lakes Senior HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Perham Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Menahga High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Becker County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Becker County 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 Becker County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Becker County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 91% of counties and health care access beats 92%.
Common questions about living in Becker County
Is Becker County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Becker County ranks 964th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, state infrastructure, and the weather, and lowest on taxes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Becker County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $295,687. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $75,847 median income, cost of living beats 57% of counties.
Is Becker County safe?
Yes, Becker County is safer than 72% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $303 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Becker County?
July highs average about 80 degrees, and January highs near 20 with lows near 4. That works out to about 146 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of counties.
Is Becker County good for families?
Schools beat 67% of counties, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $948 a month.
Compare Becker County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Becker County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Becker County 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.
Becker County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Becker County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Becker County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Becker County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Becker County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Becker County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.