Best PlacesEast Lake Francis Shores, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Lake Francis Shores, 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.
East Lake Francis Shores ranks 6,151st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East Lake Francis Shores
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.
East Lake Francis Shores' strengths and weaknesses
Where East Lake Francis Shores ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 124 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of towns
Where East Lake Francis Shores ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Short commute32.6 minutes each way, better than only 22% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,041 a month, better than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in East Lake Francis Shores
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Lake Francis Shores home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,654, 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 East Lake Francis Shores' effective rate of 0.98%, 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 East Lake Francis Shores
East Lake Francis Shores runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Lake Francis Shores.
Who works in East Lake Francis Shores, and how
Work in East Lake Francis Shores centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in East Lake Francis Shores
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across East Lake Francis Shores.
What the weather is like in East Lake Francis Shores, month by month
East Lake Francis Shores sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of East Lake Francis Shores
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 44 miles away.
The best schools in and around East Lake Francis Shores
Schools across East Lake Francis Shores average a B, better than 67% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- St. Francis ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Isanti Intermediate SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Isanti Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- St. Francis MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Cambridge-isanti High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- St. Francis HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Lake Francis Shores school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Lake Francis Shores 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 East Lake Francis Shores against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in East Lake Francis Shores
Is East Lake Francis Shores a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Lake Francis Shores ranks 6,151st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and fast internet, and lowest on tree cover and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Lake Francis Shores expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $321,556. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $89,654 median income, cost of living beats 76% of towns.
Is East Lake Francis Shores safe?
Yes, East Lake Francis Shores is safer than 100% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $109 per resident a year.
Compare East Lake Francis Shores with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Lake Francis Shores. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Lake Francis Shores 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.
East Lake Francis Shores detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Lake Francis Shores: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Lake Francis Shores: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Lake Francis Shores: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Lake Francis Shores: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Lake Francis Shores 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.