Best PlacesMerton, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Merton, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Merton ranks 2,993rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Merton
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.
Merton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Merton ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 181 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Household income$124,771 median, better than 94% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
Where Merton ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 21% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Merton
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Merton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $124,771, 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 Merton's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 Merton
Merton's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Merton.
Who works in Merton, and how
Work in Merton centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Merton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Merton.
What the weather is like in Merton, month by month
Merton sees roughly 181 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Merton
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around Merton
Schools across Merton average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Kenyon-wanamingo ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Washington ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Mckinley ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kenyon-wanamingo MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Owatonna Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Triton Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Owatonna Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Kenyon-wanamingo Senior HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Triton High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Merton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Merton 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 Merton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Merton
Is Merton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Merton ranks 2,993rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, what local pay buys, and low crime, and lowest on tree cover and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Merton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $397,903. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $124,771 median income, cost of living beats 96% of towns.
Is Merton safe?
Yes, Merton is safer than 96% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $154 per resident a year.
Compare Merton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Merton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Merton 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.
Merton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Merton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Merton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Merton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Merton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Merton 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.