Best PlacesThomas-Dale, St. Paul, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Thomas-Dale, St. Paul, 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.
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul ranks 3,924th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
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.
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul's strengths and weaknesses
Where Thomas-Dale, St. Paul ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Thomas-Dale, St. Paul ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Thomas-Dale, St. Paul home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $60,502; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Thomas-Dale, St. Paul's effective rate of 1.14%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Thomas-Dale, St. Paul.
Who works in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul, and how
Work in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Thomas-Dale, St. Paul.
What the weather is like in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul, month by month
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul sees roughly 128 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 19° | 12° |
| April | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 60° | 50° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 7 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 Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
Schools across Thomas-Dale, St. Paul average a C−, better than 31% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Capitol Hill Magnet/rondoA− · 55% proficient
- Saint Paul Music AcademyD · 19% proficient
- Crossroads Science ProgramD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Murray Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Hidden River Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- St. Paul City Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Central Senior HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Como Park Senior HighC− · 25% proficient
- Harding Senior HighD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Thomas-Dale, St. Paul school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul 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 Thomas-Dale, St. Paul against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul
Is Thomas-Dale, St. Paul a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Thomas-Dale, St. Paul ranks 3,924th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and transit, and lowest on a weak job market and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Thomas-Dale, St. Paul expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,372. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $60,502 median income, cost of living beats 32% of neighborhoods.
Is Thomas-Dale, St. Paul safe?
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul is safer than 24% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $662 per resident a year.
Compare Thomas-Dale, St. Paul with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Thomas-Dale, St. Paul. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul 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.
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Thomas-Dale, St. Paul: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Thomas-Dale, St. Paul: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Thomas-Dale, St. Paul: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Thomas-Dale, St. Paul 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.