Best PlacesDunnell, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dunnell, 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.
Dunnell ranks 33,504th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Dunnell
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.
Dunnell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Dunnell ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 123 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 71% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 68% of towns
Where Dunnell ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,119 a month, better than only 15% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dunnell
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dunnell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,285, 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 Dunnell's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dunnell
Dunnell runs older 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 Dunnell.
Who works in Dunnell, and how
Work in Dunnell centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Dunnell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dunnell.
What the weather is like in Dunnell, month by month
Dunnell sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Dunnell
The nearest airport, Fort Dodge Regional, is about 76 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dunnell
Schools across Dunnell average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Trimont ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Fairmont Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Martin County West Junior HighD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Martin County West Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Fairmont Jr./sr. High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dunnell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dunnell 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 Dunnell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dunnell
Is Dunnell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dunnell ranks 33,504th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, health care access, and the weather, and lowest on a weak job market and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dunnell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $121,086. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $60,285 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is Dunnell safe?
Yes, Dunnell is safer than 66% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $257 per resident a year.
Compare Dunnell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dunnell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dunnell 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.
Dunnell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dunnell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dunnell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dunnell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dunnell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dunnell 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.