Best PlacesSt. Croix County, WI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Croix 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.
St. Croix County ranks 111th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in St. Croix 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 St. Croix County
The parts of St. Croix 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.
River Falls
Crime runs lower, prices have run up less, and more adults hold degrees.
Roberts
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Hudson & North Hudson
More residents vote, though it is noisier.
Somerset
Scores close to Hudson & North Hudson, except that biking is worse here.
New Richmond
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Baldwin & Woodville
Homes cost less.
Hammond & Glenwood City
Commutes are longer.
Scores across St. Croix County run from about the 33rd to the 97th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
St. Croix County's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. Croix County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of counties
Where St. Croix County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$948 a month, better than only 22% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 28% of counties
- Short commute27.0 minutes each way, better than only 30% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Croix County
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Croix County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,686, 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 St. Croix County's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 St. Croix County
St. Croix 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 St. Croix County.
Who works in St. Croix County, and how
Work in St. Croix County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in St. Croix County
St. Croix County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of counties and more parkland per resident than 98% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of St. Croix County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is St. Croix County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Croix 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 St. Croix County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Croix County, month by month
St. Croix County sees roughly 93 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 24, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 58° | 48° | 40° |
Flying in and out of St. Croix County
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 33 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 St. Croix County
Schools across St. Croix County average a B, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Houlton ElementaryA+ · 77% proficient
- Hudson Prairie ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- North Hudson ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Osceola MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Hudson MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- New Richmond MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Hudson HighB · 46% proficient
- Menomonie HighB− · 43% proficient
- Saint Croix Central HighB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Croix County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Croix 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 St. Croix County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Croix County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in St. Croix County
Is St. Croix County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Croix County ranks 111th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, and heat safety, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Croix County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $382,052. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $106,686 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is St. Croix County safe?
Yes, St. Croix County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $269 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Croix County?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 24 with lows near 9. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 55% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Croix County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are River Falls, Roberts, and Hudson & North Hudson. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare St. Croix County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Croix County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Croix 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.
St. Croix County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Croix County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Croix County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Croix County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Croix County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Croix 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.