Best PlacesClearwater County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Clearwater County, 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.
Clearwater County ranks 1,936th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Clearwater 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.
Clearwater County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clearwater County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 141 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 70% of counties
Where Clearwater County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Clearwater County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clearwater County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,895, 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 Clearwater County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clearwater County
Clearwater 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 Clearwater County.
Who works in Clearwater County, and how
Work in Clearwater County centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Clearwater County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Clearwater County.
Is Clearwater County growing, and who is moving in?
Clearwater County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Beltrami County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Clearwater County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Clearwater County, month by month
Clearwater County sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 17, with lows near 0. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17° | 8° | 0° |
| April | 49° | 38° | 29° |
| July | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| October | 53° | 42° | 34° |
Flying in and out of Clearwater County
The nearest airport, Bemidji Regional, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 212 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clearwater County
Schools across Clearwater County average a C, better than 31% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clearbrook-gonvick ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Bagley ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Red Lake Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Clearbrook-gonvick SecondaryC · 32% proficient
- Bagley SecondaryC− · 30% proficient
- Red Lake SecondaryD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clearwater County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clearwater 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 Clearwater County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Clearwater County
Is Clearwater County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clearwater County ranks 1,936th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, heat safety, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clearwater County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,227. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $66,895 median income, cost of living beats 32% of counties.
Is Clearwater County safe?
Yes, Clearwater County is safer than 64% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare Clearwater County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clearwater County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clearwater 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.
Clearwater County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clearwater County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clearwater County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clearwater County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clearwater County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clearwater 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.