Best PlacesPipestone County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pipestone County, 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.
Pipestone County ranks 583rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pipestone 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.
Pipestone County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pipestone County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of counties
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
Where Pipestone County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 13% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pipestone County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pipestone County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,685, 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 Pipestone County's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 Pipestone County
Pipestone County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Pipestone County.
Who works in Pipestone County, and how
Work in Pipestone County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Pipestone County
Pipestone County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more parkland per resident than 88% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pipestone County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pipestone County growing, and who is moving in?
Pipestone County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sioux Falls, SD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pipestone County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pipestone County, month by month
Pipestone County sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 58° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Pipestone County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 163 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pipestone County
Schools across Pipestone County average a C, better than 32% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Benton ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Rtr Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Pipestone ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Luverne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Pipestone MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Rtr Secondary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Edgerton SecondaryC · 32% proficient
- Pipestone Senior HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pipestone County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pipestone 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 Pipestone County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Pipestone County
Is Pipestone County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pipestone County ranks 583rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, short commutes, and state infrastructure, 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 Pipestone County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,568. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $71,685 median income, cost of living beats 64% of counties.
Is Pipestone County safe?
Yes, Pipestone County is safer than 90% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $243 per resident a year.
Compare Pipestone County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pipestone County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pipestone 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.
Pipestone County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pipestone County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pipestone County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pipestone County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pipestone County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pipestone 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.