Best PlacesRock County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Rock 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.
Rock County ranks 442nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rock 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.
Rock County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rock County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of counties
Where Rock County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 20% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Rock County
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rock County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,673, 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 Rock County's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 Rock County
Rock 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 Rock County.
Who works in Rock County, and how
Work in Rock County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rock County
Rock County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of counties and more parkland per resident than 94% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rock County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Rock County growing, and who is moving in?
Rock County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Sioux Falls, SD metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Rock County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Rock County, month by month
Rock County sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 60° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Rock County
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 163 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rock County
Schools across Rock County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hills-beaver Creek ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Luverne ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Ellsworth ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Luverne MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Pipestone MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Lyon Secondary SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Hills-beaver Creek SecondaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Luverne Senior HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rock County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rock 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 Rock County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Rock County
Is Rock County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rock County ranks 442nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, low crime, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rock County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $220,238. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $75,673 median income, cost of living beats 83% of counties.
Is Rock County safe?
Yes, Rock County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $252 per resident a year.
Compare Rock County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rock County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rock 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.
Rock County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rock County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rock County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rock County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rock County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rock 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.