Best PlacesElmore, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmore, 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.
Elmore ranks 30,124th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elmore
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.
Elmore's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmore ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of towns
- Short commute21.5 minutes each way, better than 82% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of towns
Where Elmore ranks low
- Household income$48,476 median, better than only 10% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elmore
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmore home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,476, 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 Elmore's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Elmore
Elmore 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 Elmore.
Who works in Elmore, and how
Work in Elmore 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 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Elmore
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elmore.
What the weather is like in Elmore, month by month
Elmore sees roughly 118 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 | 57° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 61° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Elmore
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elmore
Schools across Elmore average a C, better than 37% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- North Iowa Elem Buffalo CenterA− · 57% proficient
- Granada Huntley East Chain Elem SchC · 32% proficient
- Blue Earth Area ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Iowa Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Blue Earth Area MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- North Iowa High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Blue Earth Area SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
- Granada Huntley East Chain High SchC · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmore school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmore 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 Elmore against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elmore
Is Elmore a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmore ranks 30,124th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a stable housing market, and civic engagement, and lowest on low incomes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elmore expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $81,761. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $48,476 median income, cost of living beats 17% of towns.
Is Elmore safe?
Yes, Elmore is safer than 58% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
Compare Elmore with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmore. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmore 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.
Elmore detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmore: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmore: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmore: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmore: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmore 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.