Best PlacesDowntown Duluth, Duluth, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Duluth, Duluth, 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.
Downtown Duluth, Duluth ranks 4,737th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Duluth, Duluth
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.
Downtown Duluth, Duluth's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Duluth, Duluth ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Short commute15.3 minutes each way, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Duluth, Duluth ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$34,392 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Duluth, Duluth
A household needs to earn about $194,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Duluth, Duluth home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $34,392, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Downtown Duluth, Duluth's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 Downtown Duluth, Duluth
Downtown Duluth, Duluth runs younger than the country, 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 Downtown Duluth, Duluth.
Who works in Downtown Duluth, Duluth, and how
Work in Downtown Duluth, Duluth centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 27%
Life in Downtown Duluth, Duluth
Downtown Duluth, Duluth has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Downtown Duluth, Duluth and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Duluth, Duluth, month by month
Downtown Duluth, Duluth sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 45° | 37° | 32° |
| July | 78° | 68° | 61° |
| October | 55° | 48° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Duluth, Duluth
The nearest airport, Duluth International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Duluth, Duluth
Schools across Downtown Duluth, Duluth average a C, better than 38% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lowell ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Myers-wilkins ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Park Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Harbor City International CharterA · 70% proficient
- Denfeld High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Duluth Area Learning CenterD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Duluth, Duluth school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Duluth, Duluth 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 Downtown Duluth, Duluth against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Duluth, Duluth
Is Downtown Duluth, Duluth a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Duluth, Duluth ranks 4,737th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Duluth, Duluth expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $707,660. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $34,392 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Duluth, Duluth safe?
Downtown Duluth, Duluth is safer than 18% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $955 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Duluth, Duluth with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Duluth, Duluth. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Duluth, Duluth 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.
Downtown Duluth, Duluth detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Duluth, Duluth: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Duluth, Duluth: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Duluth, Duluth: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Duluth, Duluth: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Duluth, Duluth 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.