Best PlacesFarwell, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Farwell, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Farwell ranks 8,738th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Farwell
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.
Farwell's strengths and weaknesses
Where Farwell ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Farwell ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 10% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Farwell
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Farwell home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $86,128, 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 Farwell's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 Farwell
Farwell 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 Farwell.
Who works in Farwell, and how
Work in Farwell centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Farwell
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Farwell.
What the weather is like in Farwell, month by month
Farwell sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 6. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 13° | 6° |
| April | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 57° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Farwell
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 76 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around Farwell
Schools across Farwell average a B+, better than 76% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Garfield ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Minnewaska Area ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Lincoln ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brandon-evansville Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Discovery Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Wca Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Brandon-evansville High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Alexandria Area High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- West Central Area SecondaryB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Farwell school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Farwell 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 Farwell against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Farwell
Is Farwell a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Farwell ranks 8,738th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, health care access, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Farwell expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $306,989. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $86,128 median income, cost of living beats 73% of towns.
Is Farwell safe?
Yes, Farwell is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
Compare Farwell with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Farwell. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Farwell 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.
Farwell detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Farwell: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Farwell: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Farwell: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Farwell: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Farwell 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.