Best PlacesSimpson, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Simpson, 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.
Simpson ranks 4,122nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Simpson
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.
Simpson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Simpson ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 93% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of towns
Where Simpson ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 1% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 22% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Simpson
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Simpson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $87,729, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Simpson's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 Simpson
Simpson runs older than the country, 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 Simpson.
Who works in Simpson, and how
Work in Simpson centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Simpson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Simpson.
What the weather is like in Simpson, month by month
Simpson sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 8° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 62° | 49° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Simpson
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Simpson
Schools across Simpson average a B, better than 68% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Washington District-wide ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Bear Cave Intermediate SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stewartville MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Willow Creek MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Mayo Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Stewartville Senior HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Simpson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Simpson 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 Simpson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Simpson
Is Simpson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Simpson ranks 4,122nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Simpson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $399,921. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $87,729 median income, cost of living beats 71% of towns.
Is Simpson safe?
Yes, Simpson is safer than 97% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $153 per resident a year.
Compare Simpson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Simpson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Simpson 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.
Simpson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Simpson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Simpson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Simpson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Simpson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Simpson 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.