Best PlacesCentral, Minneapolis, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central, Minneapolis, 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.
Central, Minneapolis ranks 2,649th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central, Minneapolis
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.
Central, Minneapolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Central, Minneapolis ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Central, Minneapolis ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD+, better than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central, Minneapolis
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central, Minneapolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $82,389; 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 Central, Minneapolis' effective rate of 1.08%, 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 Central, Minneapolis
Central, Minneapolis runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central, Minneapolis.
Who works in Central, Minneapolis, and how
Work in Central, Minneapolis centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Central, Minneapolis
Central, Minneapolis has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Central, Minneapolis and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central, Minneapolis, month by month
Central, Minneapolis sees roughly 103 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 Central, Minneapolis
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 5 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 Central, Minneapolis
Schools across Central, Minneapolis average a D+, better than 18% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Green Central ElementaryD− · 12% proficient
- Cityview ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Anwatin MiddleD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Fair HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central, Minneapolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central, Minneapolis 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 Central, Minneapolis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central, Minneapolis
Is Central, Minneapolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central, Minneapolis ranks 2,649th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, biking, and walkability, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central, Minneapolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,652. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $82,389 median income, cost of living beats 63% of neighborhoods.
Is Central, Minneapolis safe?
Central, Minneapolis is safer than 15% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $777 per resident a year.
Compare Central, Minneapolis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central, Minneapolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central, Minneapolis 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.
Central, Minneapolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central, Minneapolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central, Minneapolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central, Minneapolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central, Minneapolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central, Minneapolis 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.