Best PlacesPolk County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Polk County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Polk County ranks 589th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Polk 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.
Polk County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Polk County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 142 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of counties
- BikingBetter than 87% of counties
- Short commute18.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of counties
Where Polk County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Polk County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Polk County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,902, 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 Polk County's 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Polk County
Polk 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 Polk County.
Who works in Polk County, and how
Work in Polk County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Polk County
Polk County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more parkland per resident than 95% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Polk County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Polk County growing, and who is moving in?
Polk County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Grand Forks, ND metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Polk County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Polk County, month by month
Polk County sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 18, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18° | 10° | 3° |
| April | 50° | 39° | 31° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of Polk County
The nearest airport, Thief River Falls Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 256 miles away.
The best schools in and around Polk County
Schools across Polk County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Warren ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Win-e-mac ElementaryA− · 62% proficient
- Fertile-beltrami ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Fertile-beltrami SecondaryB · 47% proficient
- Win-e-mac SecondaryB− · 43% proficient
- East Grand Forks Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Polk County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Polk 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 Polk County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Polk County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 89% of counties and health care access beats 78%.
Common questions about living in Polk County
Is Polk County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Polk County ranks 589th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and the weather, and lowest on taxes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Polk County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $223,831. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $77,902 median income, cost of living beats 83% of counties.
Is Polk County safe?
Yes, Polk County is safer than 79% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Polk County?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 18 with lows near 3. That works out to about 142 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of counties.
Is Polk County good for families?
Schools beat 62% of counties, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $989 a month.
Compare Polk County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Polk County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Polk 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.
Polk County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Polk County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Polk County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Polk County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Polk County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Polk 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.