Best PlacesDodge Center, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dodge Center, 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.
Dodge Center ranks 3,975th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Dodge Center
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.
Dodge Center's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dodge Center ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 186 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of towns
- BikingBetter than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- TransitBetter than 92% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of towns
Where Dodge Center ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 18% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of towns
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 30% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dodge Center
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dodge Center home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,150, 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 Dodge Center'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, 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 Dodge Center
Dodge Center'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 Dodge Center.
Who works in Dodge Center, and how
Work in Dodge Center centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dodge Center
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dodge Center.
What the weather is like in Dodge Center, month by month
Dodge Center sees roughly 186 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 81° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Dodge Center
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dodge Center
Schools across Dodge Center average a C+, better than 45% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kasson-mantorville ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Blooming Prairie ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Triton ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kasson-mantorville Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Triton Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Kasson-mantorville Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Triton High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Blooming Prairie SecondaryC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dodge Center school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dodge Center 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 Dodge Center against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dodge Center
Is Dodge Center a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dodge Center ranks 3,975th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dodge Center expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $238,425. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $101,150 median income, cost of living beats 88% of towns.
Is Dodge Center safe?
Yes, Dodge Center is safer than 82% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
Compare Dodge Center with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dodge Center. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dodge Center 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.
Dodge Center detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dodge Center: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dodge Center: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dodge Center: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dodge Center: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dodge Center 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.