Best PlacesForada, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Forada, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Forada ranks 8,818th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Forada
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.
Forada's strengths and weaknesses
Where Forada ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of towns
- Household income$95,875 median, better than 82% of towns
Where Forada ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 14% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Forada
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forada home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,875, 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 Forada's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 Forada
Forada 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 Forada.
Who works in Forada, and how
Work in Forada centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Forada
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Forada.
What the weather is like in Forada, month by month
Forada 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 Forada
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Forada
Schools across Forada average a B+, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Osakis ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- Minnewaska Area ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Lincoln ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Discovery Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Minnewaska Area Junior HighC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Alexandria Area High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Osakis SecondaryB · 46% proficient
- Minnewaska SecondaryB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forada school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forada 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 Forada against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Forada
Is Forada a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forada ranks 8,818th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and health care access, and lowest on empty homes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forada expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $366,393. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $95,875 median income, cost of living beats 85% of towns.
Is Forada safe?
Yes, Forada is safer than 80% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
Compare Forada with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forada. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forada 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.
Forada detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forada: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forada: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forada: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forada: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forada 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.