Best PlacesFrench Lake, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around French Lake, 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.
French Lake ranks 11,962nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in French Lake
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.
French Lake's strengths and weaknesses
Where French Lake ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of towns
- Household income$100,815 median, better than 85% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of towns
Where French Lake ranks low
- Short commute37.9 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 20% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 24% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in French Lake
A household needs to earn about $110,000 a year to comfortably buy the median French Lake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $100,815; 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 French Lake's effective rate of 0.76%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in French Lake
French Lake's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for French Lake.
Who works in French Lake, and how
Work in French Lake centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in French Lake
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across French Lake.
What the weather is like in French Lake, month by month
French Lake sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of French Lake
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around French Lake
Schools across French Lake average a B+, better than 80% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cokato ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Annandale Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dassel-cokato MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Annandale Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Dassel-cokato Senior HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Annandale Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every French Lake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
French Lake 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 French Lake against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in French Lake
Is French Lake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, French Lake ranks 11,962nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, health care access, and civic engagement, and lowest on long commutes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is French Lake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $421,977. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $100,815 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is French Lake safe?
Yes, French Lake is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $243 per resident a year.
Compare French Lake with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to French Lake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in French Lake 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.
French Lake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for French Lake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in French Lake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of French Lake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in French Lake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
French Lake 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.