Best PlacesRushmore, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rushmore, 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.
Rushmore ranks 25,219th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Rushmore
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.
Rushmore's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rushmore ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 93% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of towns
- Short commute21.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 125 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of towns
Where Rushmore ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rushmore
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rushmore home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,793, 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 Rushmore's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 Rushmore
Rushmore'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 Rushmore.
Who works in Rushmore, and how
Work in Rushmore centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Rushmore
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rushmore.
What the weather is like in Rushmore, month by month
Rushmore sees roughly 125 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Rushmore
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 155 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rushmore
Schools across Rushmore average a C, better than 28% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ellsworth ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Adrian ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Prairie ElementaryC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Adrian MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Worthington MiddleC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Adrian SecondaryB− · 43% proficient
- Ellsworth SecondaryC · 30% proficient
- Worthington Senior HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rushmore school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rushmore 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 Rushmore against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rushmore
Is Rushmore a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rushmore ranks 25,219th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a strong job market, and cell coverage, and lowest on tree cover and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rushmore expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,816. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $66,793 median income, cost of living beats 46% of towns.
Is Rushmore safe?
Rushmore is safer than 30% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
Compare Rushmore with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rushmore. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rushmore 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.
Rushmore detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rushmore: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rushmore: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rushmore: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rushmore: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rushmore 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.