Best PlacesFederal Dam, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Federal Dam, 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.
Federal Dam ranks 39,105th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Federal Dam
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.
Federal Dam's strengths and weaknesses
Where Federal Dam ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 126 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of towns
Where Federal Dam ranks low
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Federal Dam
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Federal Dam home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $56,339; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Federal Dam's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Federal Dam
Federal Dam 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 Federal Dam.
Who works in Federal Dam, and how
Work in Federal Dam centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Federal Dam
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Federal Dam.
What the weather is like in Federal Dam, month by month
Federal Dam sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 2. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 11° | 2° |
| April | 50° | 39° | 29° |
| July | 79° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 53° | 44° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Federal Dam
The nearest airport, Bemidji Regional, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around Federal Dam
Schools across Federal Dam average a D, better than 5% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- W.h.a. ElementaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Cass Lake-bena ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Northland ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cass Lake-bena Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Walker-hackensack-akeley Sec.C− · 29% proficient
- Cass Lake-bena SecondaryD+ · 24% proficient
- Northland SecondaryD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Federal Dam school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Federal Dam 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 Federal Dam against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Federal Dam
Is Federal Dam a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Federal Dam ranks 39,105th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, state infrastructure, and the weather, and lowest on the schools and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Federal Dam expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,872. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $56,339 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is Federal Dam safe?
Federal Dam is safer than 29% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $399 per resident a year.
Compare Federal Dam with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Federal Dam. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Federal Dam 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.
Federal Dam detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Federal Dam: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Federal Dam: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Federal Dam: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Federal Dam: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Federal Dam 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.