Best PlacesCaledonia, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Caledonia, 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.
Caledonia ranks 9,796th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Caledonia
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.
Caledonia's strengths and weaknesses
Where Caledonia ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of towns
- BikingBetter than 81% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of towns
Where Caledonia ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 25% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 30% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Caledonia
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Caledonia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,843, 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 Caledonia's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 Caledonia
Caledonia 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 Caledonia.
Who works in Caledonia, and how
Work in Caledonia centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Caledonia
Caledonia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Caledonia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Caledonia, month by month
Caledonia sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 21° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Caledonia
The nearest airport, La Crosse Regional, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Caledonia
Schools across Caledonia average a B, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Caledonia ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Houston ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Spring Grove ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Caledonia MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- La Crescent-hokah Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Caledonia Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
- La Crescent Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Spring Grove SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Caledonia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Caledonia 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 Caledonia against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Caledonia
Is Caledonia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Caledonia ranks 9,796th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, state infrastructure, and few empty homes, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Caledonia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,248. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $78,843 median income, cost of living beats 72% of towns.
Is Caledonia safe?
Yes, Caledonia is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
Compare Caledonia with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Caledonia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Caledonia 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.
Caledonia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Caledonia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Caledonia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Caledonia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Caledonia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Caledonia 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.