Best PlacesSouth Range, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Range, 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.
South Range ranks 15,006th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Range
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.
South Range's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Range ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of towns
Where South Range ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,055 a month, better than only 21% of towns
- Short commute31.5 minutes each way, better than only 26% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 28% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 31% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Range
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Range home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,816, 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 South Range's effective rate of 1.00%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Range
South Range runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Range.
Who works in South Range, and how
Work in South Range centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Range
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Range.
What the weather is like in South Range, month by month
South Range sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 15° | 8° |
| April | 47° | 37° | 29° |
| July | 80° | 67° | 55° |
| October | 56° | 46° | 37° |
Flying in and out of South Range
The nearest airport, Duluth International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Range
Schools across South Range average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Northwestern ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Lake Superior ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Four Corners ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northwestern MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Superior MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Northwestern HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Superior HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Range school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Range 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 South Range against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Range
Is South Range a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Range ranks 15,006th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and heat safety, and lowest on internet speeds and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Range expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,374. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $85,816 median income, cost of living beats 72% of towns.
Is South Range safe?
Yes, South Range is safer than 63% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $271 per resident a year.
Compare South Range with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Range. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Range 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.
South Range detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Range: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Range: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Range: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Range: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Range 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.