Best PlacesMeadow Park, Rochester, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Meadow Park, Rochester, 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.
Meadow Park, Rochester ranks 3,141st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and transit ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Meadow Park, Rochester
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.
Meadow Park, Rochester's strengths and weaknesses
Where Meadow Park, Rochester ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Meadow Park, Rochester ranks low
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Household income$61,349 median, better than only 29% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Meadow Park, Rochester
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Meadow Park, Rochester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $61,349; 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 Meadow Park, Rochester's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 Meadow Park, Rochester
Meadow Park, Rochester runs younger 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 Meadow Park, Rochester.
Who works in Meadow Park, Rochester, and how
Work in Meadow Park, Rochester centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Meadow Park, Rochester
Meadow Park, Rochester has more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Meadow Park, Rochester and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Meadow Park, Rochester, month by month
Meadow Park, Rochester sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 38° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Meadow Park, Rochester
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Meadow Park, Rochester
Schools across Meadow Park, Rochester average a B−, better than 71% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Washington District-wide ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Montessori At Franklin ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Franklin ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Right FitD+ · 25% proficient
- Willow Creek MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Mayo Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Meadow Park, Rochester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Meadow Park, Rochester 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 Meadow Park, Rochester against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Meadow Park, Rochester
Is Meadow Park, Rochester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Meadow Park, Rochester ranks 3,141st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, civic engagement, and heat safety, and lowest on transit and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Meadow Park, Rochester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,752. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $61,349 median income, cost of living beats 32% of neighborhoods.
Is Meadow Park, Rochester safe?
Yes, Meadow Park, Rochester is safer than 81% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $314 per resident a year.
Compare Meadow Park, Rochester with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Meadow Park, Rochester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Meadow Park, Rochester 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.
Meadow Park, Rochester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Meadow Park, Rochester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Meadow Park, Rochester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Meadow Park, Rochester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Meadow Park, Rochester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Meadow Park, Rochester 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.