Best PlacesTraverse County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Traverse 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.
Traverse County ranks 1,958th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Traverse 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.
Traverse County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Traverse County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 90% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 133 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
Where Traverse County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Traverse County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Traverse County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,319, 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 Traverse County's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 Traverse County
Traverse County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Traverse County.
Who works in Traverse County, and how
Work in Traverse County centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Traverse County
Traverse County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of counties and more parkland per resident than 96% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Traverse County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Traverse County growing, and who is moving in?
Traverse County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Grant County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Traverse County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Traverse County, month by month
Traverse County sees roughly 133 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 23, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 14° | 7° |
| April | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Traverse County
The nearest airport, Watertown Regional, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 172 miles away.
The best schools in and around Traverse County
Schools across Traverse County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pearson ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Chokio-alberta ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Pre-k - 5th Grade BuildingB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Browns Valley MiddleC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Herman SecondaryB− · 42% proficient
- Wheaton SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
- 6-12th Grade BuildingC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Traverse County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Traverse 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 Traverse County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Traverse County
Is Traverse County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Traverse County ranks 1,958th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, short commutes, and health care access, and lowest on empty homes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Traverse County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $125,723. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $65,319 median income, cost of living beats 50% of counties.
Is Traverse County safe?
Traverse County is safer than 18% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $483 per resident a year.
Compare Traverse County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Traverse County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Traverse 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.
Traverse County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Traverse County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Traverse County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Traverse County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Traverse County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Traverse 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.