Best PlacesBloomington, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bloomington, 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.
Bloomington ranks 470th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Bloomington
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.
Bloomington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bloomington ranks high
- BikingBetter than 94% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of cities
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 82% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 81% of cities
Where Bloomington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 8% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 17% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 37% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Bloomington
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bloomington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $98,934; 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 Bloomington's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 Bloomington
Bloomington 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 Bloomington.
Who works in Bloomington, and how
Work in Bloomington 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 70%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Bloomington
Bloomington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 97% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bloomington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bloomington, month by month
Bloomington sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Bloomington
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 6 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 Bloomington
Schools across Bloomington average a B−, better than 54% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Normandale ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Eagle Heights Spanish ImmersionA · 64% proficient
- Seven Hills Preparatory AcademyA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Valley View MiddleA · 65% proficient
- Central Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Olson MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Edina Senior HighA · 75% proficient
- Eden Prairie Senior HighA− · 65% proficient
- Jefferson Senior HighB+ · 57% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bloomington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bloomington 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 Bloomington against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Bloomington suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% 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 67%.
Common questions about living in Bloomington
Is Bloomington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bloomington ranks 470th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on biking, a stable housing market, and state infrastructure, 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 Bloomington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $375,512. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $98,934 median income, cost of living beats 77% of cities.
Is Bloomington safe?
Bloomington is safer than 45% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $341 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bloomington?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 27 with lows near 10. That works out to about 111 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of cities.
Is Bloomington good for families?
Schools beat 54% of cities, crime safety beats 45%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare Bloomington with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bloomington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bloomington 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.
Bloomington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bloomington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bloomington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bloomington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bloomington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bloomington 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.