Best PlacesLyon County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lyon County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lyon County ranks 414th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lyon 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.
Lyon County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lyon County ranks high
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 96% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of counties
- BikingBetter than 89% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of counties
Where Lyon County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 19% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lyon County
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lyon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,636, 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 Lyon County's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lyon County
Lyon County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lyon County.
Who works in Lyon County, and how
Work in Lyon County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Lyon County
Lyon County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 86% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lyon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lyon County growing, and who is moving in?
Lyon County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Redwood County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lyon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lyon County, month by month
Lyon County sees roughly 125 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° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 60° | 48° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Lyon County
The nearest airport, Watertown Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lyon County
Schools across Lyon County average a B, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Minneota ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Tracy ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Lakeview ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marshall Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Lynd Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Minneota SecondaryA− · 62% proficient
- Marshall High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Tracy SecondaryB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lyon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lyon 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 Lyon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lyon County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of counties and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 78% of counties and health care access beats 73%.
Common questions about living in Lyon County
Is Lyon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lyon County ranks 414th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and cell coverage, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lyon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,226. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $78,636 median income, cost of living beats 78% of counties.
Is Lyon County safe?
Yes, Lyon County is safer than 73% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lyon County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 9. That works out to about 125 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of counties.
Is Lyon County good for families?
Schools beat 74% of counties, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $989 a month.
Compare Lyon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lyon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lyon 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.
Lyon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lyon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lyon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lyon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lyon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lyon 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.