Best PlacesNorth Oaks, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Oaks, 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 Oaks ranks 95th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Oaks
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 Oaks' strengths and weaknesses
Where North Oaks ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$208,707 median, better than 99% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
Where North Oaks ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 26% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 29% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 37% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Oaks
A household needs to earn about $205,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Oaks home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $208,707, 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 Oaks' effective rate of 1.03%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Oaks
North Oaks runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Oaks.
Who works in North Oaks, and how
Work in North Oaks centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in North Oaks
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Oaks.
What the weather is like in North Oaks, month by month
North Oaks sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 56° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 60° | 51° | 43° |
Flying in and out of North Oaks
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 16 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 17.5 million passengers in 2025, with 195 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around North Oaks
Schools across North Oaks average an A−, better than 86% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Matoska InternationalB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chippewa Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Central MiddleB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Mounds View Senior HighA · 74% proficient
- White Bear South Campus SeniorC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Oaks school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Oaks 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 Oaks against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Oaks
Is North Oaks a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Oaks ranks 95th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Oaks expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $759,096. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $208,707 median income, cost of living beats 100% of towns.
Is North Oaks safe?
Yes, North Oaks is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare North Oaks with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Oaks. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Oaks 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 Oaks detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Oaks: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Oaks: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Oaks: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Oaks: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Oaks 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.