Best PlacesElmdale, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmdale, 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.
Elmdale ranks 12,682nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elmdale
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.
Elmdale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmdale ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 82% of towns
- Household income$94,661 median, better than 81% of towns
Where Elmdale ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 19% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Short commute31.7 minutes each way, better than only 25% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elmdale
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmdale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,661, 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 Elmdale's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 Elmdale
Elmdale'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 Elmdale.
Who works in Elmdale, and how
Work in Elmdale centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Elmdale
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elmdale.
What the weather is like in Elmdale, month by month
Elmdale sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 22, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 14° | 6° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 81° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Elmdale
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elmdale
Schools across Elmdale average a B−, better than 61% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Upsala ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Upsala SecondaryC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmdale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmdale 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 Elmdale against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elmdale
Is Elmdale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmdale ranks 12,682nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and few empty homes, 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 Elmdale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $249,854. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $94,661 median income, cost of living beats 82% of towns.
Is Elmdale safe?
Yes, Elmdale is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare Elmdale with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmdale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmdale 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.
Elmdale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmdale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmdale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmdale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmdale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmdale 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.