Best PlacesKanabec County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kanabec County, 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.
Kanabec County ranks 1,179th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Kanabec County
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.
Kanabec County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kanabec County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 89% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 74% of counties
Where Kanabec County ranks low
- Short commute34.3 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Kanabec County
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kanabec County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,988, 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 Kanabec County's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kanabec County
Kanabec County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kanabec County.
Who works in Kanabec County, and how
Work in Kanabec County 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 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Kanabec County
Kanabec County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Kanabec County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Kanabec County growing, and who is moving in?
Kanabec County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minneapolis, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Kanabec County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Kanabec County, month by month
Kanabec County sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| July | 80° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Kanabec County
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kanabec County
Schools across Kanabec County average a B, better than 73% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mora Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Braham ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Milaca ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mora Middle Level AlcD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Mora Alternative Learning CenterB · 50% proficient
- Mora SecondaryB · 46% proficient
- Milaca Secondary HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kanabec County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kanabec County 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 Kanabec County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Kanabec County
Is Kanabec County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kanabec County ranks 1,179th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and heat safety, and lowest on long commutes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kanabec County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $230,879. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $74,988 median income, cost of living beats 47% of counties.
Is Kanabec County safe?
Yes, Kanabec County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $222 per resident a year.
Compare Kanabec County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kanabec County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kanabec County 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.
Kanabec County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kanabec County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kanabec County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kanabec County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kanabec County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kanabec County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.