Best PlacesChisago County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Chisago 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.
Chisago County ranks 281st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Chisago 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 Chisago County
The parts of Chisago 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.
Lindstrom
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Chisago City
More residents vote and prices have run up less.
Center City
It is quieter, though more homes sit empty.
Wyoming
More adults hold degrees and commutes are shorter.
Rush City
Tree cover is thinner and health care is harder to reach.
North Branch & Stacy
Scores close to Rush City, except that biking is better here.
Scores across Chisago County run from about the 25th to the 93rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Chisago County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chisago County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of counties
- Household income$102,695 median, better than 93% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of counties
Where Chisago County ranks low
- Short commute31.0 minutes each way, better than only 12% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,041 a month, better than only 15% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 27% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Chisago County
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chisago County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $102,695, 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 Chisago County's effective rate of 1.03%, 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 Chisago County
Chisago 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 Chisago County.
Who works in Chisago County, and how
Work in Chisago 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 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Chisago County
Chisago County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Chisago County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Chisago County growing, and who is moving in?
Chisago County has grown about 10% 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 Chisago County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Chisago County, month by month
Chisago County sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Chisago County
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 42 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 Chisago County
Schools across Chisago County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Scandia ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Columbus ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Cambridge Intermediate SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Osceola MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Forest Lake ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Cambridge Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Chisago Lakes Senior HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Forest Lake Area High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Cambridge-isanti High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chisago County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chisago 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 Chisago County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Chisago County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Chisago County
Is Chisago County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chisago County ranks 281st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, civic engagement, and what local pay buys, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chisago County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $351,521. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $102,695 median income, cost of living beats 93% of counties.
Is Chisago County safe?
Yes, Chisago County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $187 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chisago County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 10. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Chisago County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Lindstrom, Chisago City, and Center City. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Chisago County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chisago County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chisago 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.
Chisago County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chisago County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chisago County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chisago County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chisago County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chisago 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.