Best PlacesDowntown West, Minneapolis, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown West, Minneapolis, 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 West, Minneapolis ranks 1,166th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown West, Minneapolis
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 West, Minneapolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown West, Minneapolis ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown West, Minneapolis ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- School gradeC−, better than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown West, Minneapolis
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown West, Minneapolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,847, 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 Downtown West, Minneapolis' effective rate of 1.23%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown West, Minneapolis
Downtown West, Minneapolis 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 West, Minneapolis.
Who works in Downtown West, Minneapolis, and how
Work in Downtown West, Minneapolis centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 27%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 43%
Life in Downtown West, Minneapolis
Downtown West, Minneapolis has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown West, Minneapolis and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown West, Minneapolis, month by month
Downtown West, Minneapolis sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Downtown West, Minneapolis
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 7 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 Downtown West, Minneapolis
Schools across Downtown West, Minneapolis average a C−, better than 27% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Webster ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
- Cityview ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northeast MiddleD− · 17% proficient
- Anwatin MiddleD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Fair HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown West, Minneapolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown West, Minneapolis 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 West, Minneapolis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown West, Minneapolis
Is Downtown West, Minneapolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown West, Minneapolis ranks 1,166th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on crime and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown West, Minneapolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $321,885. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $93,847 median income, cost of living beats 83% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown West, Minneapolis safe?
Downtown West, Minneapolis is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,393 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown West, Minneapolis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown West, Minneapolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown West, Minneapolis 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 West, Minneapolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown West, Minneapolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown West, Minneapolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown West, Minneapolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown West, Minneapolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown West, Minneapolis 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.