Best PlacesMcLeod County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McLeod County, 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.
McLeod County ranks 330th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in McLeod 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.
The best areas in McLeod County
The parts of McLeod County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Hutchinson
More adults hold degrees, biking is better, and tree cover is thicker.
Winsted
Glencoe
Prices have run up less, though it is noisier.
Scores across McLeod County run from about the 34th to the 82nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
McLeod County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McLeod County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
Where McLeod County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 22% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 26% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McLeod County
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McLeod County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,466, 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 McLeod County's effective rate of 1.11%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McLeod County
McLeod County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 McLeod County.
Who works in McLeod County, and how
Work in McLeod County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in McLeod County
McLeod County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of McLeod County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McLeod County growing, and who is moving in?
McLeod County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minneapolis, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McLeod County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McLeod County, month by month
McLeod County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 60° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of McLeod County
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around McLeod County
Schools across McLeod County average a B, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Humphrey ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Hutchinson Park ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Buffalo Lake-hector ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Litchfield Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Hutchinson MiddleA− · 52% proficient
- Howard Lake-waverly-winsted MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Litchfield Senior HighA− · 63% proficient
- Hutchinson Senior HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Glencoe-silver Lake Senior HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McLeod County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McLeod 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 McLeod County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McLeod County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in McLeod County
Is McLeod County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McLeod County ranks 330th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, cell coverage, and few empty homes, 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 McLeod County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $257,833. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $82,466 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is McLeod County safe?
Yes, McLeod County is safer than 97% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $215 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McLeod County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 9. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McLeod County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Hutchinson, Winsted, and Glencoe. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare McLeod County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McLeod County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McLeod 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.
McLeod County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McLeod County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McLeod County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McLeod County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McLeod County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McLeod 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.