Best PlacesCottonwood County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cottonwood County, 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.
Cottonwood County ranks 588th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cottonwood 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.
Cottonwood County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cottonwood County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of counties
- Short commute15.3 minutes each way, better than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 82% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of counties
Where Cottonwood County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cottonwood County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cottonwood County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,815, 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 Cottonwood County's effective rate of 1.04%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cottonwood County
Cottonwood County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Cottonwood County.
Who works in Cottonwood County, and how
Work in Cottonwood County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Cottonwood County
Cottonwood County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 89% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Cottonwood County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cottonwood County growing, and who is moving in?
Cottonwood County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Redwood County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cottonwood County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cottonwood County, month by month
Cottonwood County sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Cottonwood County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 85 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cottonwood County
Schools across Cottonwood County average a B−, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Comfrey ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Red Rock Central ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Fulda ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windom MiddleC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Red Rock Central SecondaryB+ · 58% proficient
- Mountain Lake SecondaryB · 47% proficient
- Springfield SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cottonwood County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Cottonwood County
Is Cottonwood County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cottonwood County ranks 588th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on internet speeds and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cottonwood County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $167,161. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $70,815 median income, cost of living beats 65% of counties.
Is Cottonwood County safe?
Yes, Cottonwood County is safer than 80% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
Compare Cottonwood County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cottonwood County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cottonwood 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.
Cottonwood County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cottonwood County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cottonwood County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cottonwood County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cottonwood County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cottonwood 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.