Best PlacesOakdale, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oakdale, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oakdale ranks 521st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Oakdale
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.
Oakdale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oakdale ranks high
- BikingBetter than 92% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of cities
Where Oakdale ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 8% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 11% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Oakdale
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oakdale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,922, 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 Oakdale's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oakdale
Oakdale'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 Oakdale.
Who works in Oakdale, and how
Work in Oakdale centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Oakdale
Oakdale has more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Oakdale and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oakdale, month by month
Oakdale sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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 | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Oakdale
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 14 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 Oakdale
Schools across Oakdale average a B−, better than 48% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Rutherford ElementaryB+ · 51% proficient
- Eagle Point ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Lake Elmo ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mahtomedi MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Stillwater Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Oak-land Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Mahtomedi Senior HighA · 72% proficient
- Stillwater Area High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Tartan Senior HighB · 46% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oakdale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oakdale 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 Oakdale against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Oakdale suits
Families
Schools land around the 48th percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of cities and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 74% of cities and health care access beats 72%.
Common questions about living in Oakdale
Is Oakdale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oakdale ranks 521st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on biking, state infrastructure, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oakdale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,475. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $97,922 median income, cost of living beats 72% of cities.
Is Oakdale safe?
Yes, Oakdale is safer than 76% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $249 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oakdale?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 130 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of cities.
Is Oakdale good for families?
Schools beat 48% of cities, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare Oakdale with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oakdale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oakdale 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.
Oakdale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oakdale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oakdale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oakdale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oakdale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oakdale 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.