Best PlacesKettle River, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kettle River, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kettle River ranks 25,430th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kettle River
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.
Kettle River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kettle River ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of towns
Where Kettle River ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 20% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Kettle River
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kettle River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,718, 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 Kettle River's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 Kettle River
Kettle River 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 Kettle River.
Who works in Kettle River, and how
Work in Kettle River centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Kettle River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kettle River.
What the weather is like in Kettle River, month by month
Kettle River sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 52° | 40° | 30° |
| July | 80° | 68° | 57° |
| October | 56° | 45° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Kettle River
The nearest airport, Duluth International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kettle River
Schools across Kettle River average a B−, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Barnum ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Cromwell-wright ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Moose Lake ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Barnum SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
- Moose Lake SecondaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Cromwell-wright SecondaryC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kettle River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kettle River 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 Kettle River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Kettle River
Is Kettle River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kettle River ranks 25,430th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and clean air, and lowest on internet speeds 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 Kettle River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,656. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $67,718 median income, cost of living beats 33% of towns.
Is Kettle River safe?
Yes, Kettle River is safer than 73% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $240 per resident a year.
Compare Kettle River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kettle River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kettle River 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.
Kettle River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kettle River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kettle River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kettle River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kettle River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kettle River 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.