Best PlacesNobles County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Nobles 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.
Nobles County ranks 1,398th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nobles 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.
Nobles County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nobles County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of counties
- BikingBetter than 84% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 81% of counties
Where Nobles County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Nobles County
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nobles County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,453, 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 Nobles County's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Nobles County
Nobles County runs younger than the country, 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 Nobles County.
Who works in Nobles County, and how
Work in Nobles County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Nobles County
Nobles County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Nobles County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Nobles County growing, and who is moving in?
Nobles County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Nobles County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Nobles County, month by month
Nobles County sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Nobles County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 148 miles away.
The best schools in and around Nobles County
Schools across Nobles County average a C, better than 29% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Harris-lake Park Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Murray Co. Central ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Luverne ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Luverne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Adrian MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Round Lake-brewster Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Harris-lake Park High SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Murray County Central SecondaryB+ · 57% proficient
- Luverne Senior HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nobles County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nobles 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 Nobles County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Nobles County suits
Common questions about living in Nobles County
Is Nobles County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nobles County ranks 1,398th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, cell coverage, and biking, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nobles County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,632. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,453 median income, cost of living beats 49% of counties.
Is Nobles County safe?
Nobles County is safer than 55% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $335 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Nobles County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 27 with lows near 9. That works out to about 125 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of counties.
Is Nobles County good for families?
Schools beat 29% of counties, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $989 a month.
Compare Nobles County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nobles County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nobles 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.
Nobles County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nobles County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nobles County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nobles County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nobles County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nobles 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.