Best PlacesCarver County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Carver County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Carver County ranks 10th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $137,280, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, taxes, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Carver 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.
The best areas in Carver County
The parts of Carver County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Chanhassen
Tree cover is thicker, more adults hold degrees, and local pay stretches further.
Waconia & Victoria
Scores close to Chanhassen, except that advertised internet is faster here.
Chaska
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Carver & Cologne
Prices have run up more and streets are more car-dependent.
Watertown & Mayer
More households have young kids, though incomes run lower.
Norwood Young America
Homes cost less, though fewer residents vote.
Scores across Carver County run from about the 53rd to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Carver County's strengths and weaknesses
Carver County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. What local pay buys and civic engagement follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Taxes and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Carver County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$137,280 median, better than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
Where Carver County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of counties
- Short commute25.6 minutes each way, better than only 39% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Carver County
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Carver County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $137,280, 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 Carver County's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 Carver County
Carver County'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 Carver County.
Who works in Carver County, and how
Work in Carver County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Carver County
Carver County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 88% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Carver County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Carver County growing, and who is moving in?
Carver County has grown about 16% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Minneapolis, MN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Carver County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Carver County, month by month
Carver County sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 11. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 11° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Carver County
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 23 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 Carver County
Schools across Carver County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Chanhassen ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Bayview ElementaryA · 71% proficient
- Minnewashta ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grandview Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Minnetonka West MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Jordan MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Minnetonka Senior HighA · 69% proficient
- Chanhassen High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Watertown Mayer HighA− · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Carver County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Carver 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 Carver County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Carver County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 24% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 74% of counties and health care access beats 96%.
Common questions about living in Carver County
Is Carver County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Carver County ranks 10th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Carver County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $462,896. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $137,280 median income, cost of living beats 100% of counties.
Is Carver County safe?
Yes, Carver County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Carver County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 11. That works out to about 119 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Carver County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Chanhassen, Waconia & Victoria, and Chaska. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Carver County good for families?
Schools beat 83% of counties, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Is Carver County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 100% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of counties. About 24% of workers already work from home.
Compare Carver County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Carver County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Carver 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.
Carver County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Carver County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Carver County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Carver County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Carver County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Carver 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.