Best PlacesNorth Benton, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Benton, 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.
North Benton ranks 7,019th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Benton
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.
North Benton's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Benton ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 83% of towns
- Household income$96,782 median, better than 83% of towns
Where North Benton ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 20% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 27% of towns
- Short commute30.9 minutes each way, better than only 29% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Benton
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Benton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,782, 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 North Benton's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 North Benton
North Benton's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Benton.
Who works in North Benton, and how
Work in North Benton centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in North Benton
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Benton.
What the weather is like in North Benton, month by month
North Benton sees roughly 121 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 15° | 7° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 33° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 47° | 39° |
Flying in and out of North Benton
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Benton
Schools across North Benton average a B+, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Foley ElementaryA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foley Intermediate ElementaryB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Foley Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Benton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Benton 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 North Benton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Benton
Is North Benton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Benton ranks 7,019th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and heat safety, and lowest on internet speeds and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Benton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $314,517. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $96,782 median income, cost of living beats 81% of towns.
Is North Benton safe?
Yes, North Benton is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
Compare North Benton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Benton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Benton 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.
North Benton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Benton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Benton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Benton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Benton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Benton 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.