Best PlacesSibley County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sibley 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.
Sibley County ranks 781st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sibley 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.
Sibley County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sibley County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 81% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of counties
Where Sibley County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 26% of counties
- Short commute27.1 minutes each way, better than only 30% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sibley County
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sibley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,539, 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 Sibley 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, 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 Sibley County
Sibley County'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 Sibley County.
Who works in Sibley County, and how
Work in Sibley County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Sibley County
Sibley County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 73% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sibley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sibley County growing, and who is moving in?
Sibley County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minneapolis, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sibley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sibley County, month by month
Sibley County sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 59° | 49° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Sibley County
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 51 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 17.5 million passengers in 2025, with 195 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Sibley County
Schools across Sibley County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Crest ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Buffalo Lake-hector ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Central ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hutchinson MiddleA− · 52% proficient
- New Ulm Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Le Sueur-henderson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Edvisions Off Campus SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Belle Plaine Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Glencoe-silver Lake Senior HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sibley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sibley 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 Sibley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sibley County
Is Sibley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sibley County ranks 781st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on a weak job market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sibley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,502. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $82,539 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Sibley County safe?
Yes, Sibley County is safer than 84% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
Compare Sibley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sibley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sibley 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.
Sibley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sibley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sibley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sibley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sibley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sibley 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.