Best PlacesSherburne County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sherburne County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Sherburne County ranks 112th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Sherburne 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.
The best areas in Sherburne County
The parts of Sherburne County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Zimmerman
It is quieter, more households have young kids, and tree cover is thicker.
Big Lake
Prices have run up less and crime runs lower.
Elk River
Biking is better, though advertised internet is slower.
Princeton
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Becker
Scores close to Princeton, except that homes cost less here.
St. Cloud & Clear Lake
Fewer residents vote and incomes run lower.
Scores across Sherburne County run from about the 19th to the 96th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Sherburne County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sherburne County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of counties
Where Sherburne County ranks low
- Short commute30.7 minutes each way, better than only 13% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,041 a month, better than only 15% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sherburne County
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sherburne County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $110,695, 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 Sherburne County's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 Sherburne County
Sherburne County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sherburne County.
Who works in Sherburne County, and how
Work in Sherburne County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Sherburne County
Sherburne County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Sherburne County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sherburne County growing, and who is moving in?
Sherburne County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Minneapolis, MN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sherburne County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sherburne County, month by month
Sherburne County sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Sherburne County
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sherburne County
Schools across Sherburne County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Parker ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Otsego ElementaryA · 64% proficient
- Twin Lakes ElementaryA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rogers Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Spectrum Middle School - Grades 7-8A · 60% proficient
- Spectrum Middle School - Grade 6A− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Rogers Senior HighA− · 64% proficient
- Spectrum High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Elk River Senior HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sherburne County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sherburne 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 Sherburne County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sherburne County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 76% of counties and health care access beats 75%.
Common questions about living in Sherburne County
Is Sherburne County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sherburne County ranks 112th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, low crime, and what local pay buys, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sherburne County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $354,197. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $110,695 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Sherburne County safe?
Yes, Sherburne County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sherburne County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 25 with lows near 9. That works out to about 122 pleasant days a year, more than 76% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sherburne County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Zimmerman, Big Lake, and Elk River. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Sherburne County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sherburne County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sherburne 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.
Sherburne County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sherburne County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sherburne County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sherburne County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sherburne County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sherburne 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.