Best PlacesPine River, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Pine River, 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.
Pine River ranks 22,901st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Pine River
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.
Pine River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pine River ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 137 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of towns
- BikingBetter than 84% of towns
Where Pine River ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 30% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Pine River
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pine River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,100; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Pine River's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 Pine River
Pine River runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pine River.
Who works in Pine River, and how
Work in Pine River centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Pine River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Pine River.
What the weather is like in Pine River, month by month
Pine River sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 21, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 50° | 39° | 30° |
| July | 79° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 54° | 44° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Pine River
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pine River
Schools across Pine River average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Eagle View ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Pine River-backus ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pequot Lakes MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Pequot Lakes Senior HighB · 48% proficient
- Staples-motley Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Pine River-backus High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pine River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pine River 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 Pine River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Pine River
Is Pine River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pine River ranks 22,901st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and the weather, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pine River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,551. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $63,100 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Pine River safe?
Pine River is safer than 45% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $346 per resident a year.
Compare Pine River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pine River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pine River 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.
Pine River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pine River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pine River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pine River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pine River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pine River 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.