Best PlacesWadena County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Wadena County, 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.
Wadena County ranks 1,512th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Wadena 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.
Wadena County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Wadena County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 137 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 80% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of counties
Where Wadena County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 25% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 26% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Wadena County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Wadena County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,890, 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 Wadena County's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Wadena County
Wadena County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Wadena County.
Who works in Wadena County, and how
Work in Wadena County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Wadena County
Wadena County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Wadena County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Wadena County growing, and who is moving in?
Wadena County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Otter Tail County, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Wadena County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Wadena County, month by month
Wadena County sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 3. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 11° | 3° |
| April | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| July | 79° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 55° | 44° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Wadena County
The nearest airport, Brainerd Lakes Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around Wadena County
Schools across Wadena County average a B−, better than 63% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sebeka ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Menahga ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Verndale ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wadena-deer Creek 5th And 6th GradeB · 45% proficient
- Motley-staples Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Wadena-deer Creek Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Staples-motley Senior HighB− · 42% proficient
- Menahga High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Wadena County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Wadena 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 Wadena County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Wadena County
Is Wadena County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Wadena County ranks 1,512th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, heat safety, and the weather, and lowest on taxes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Wadena County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $185,791. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $61,890 median income, cost of living beats 29% of counties.
Is Wadena County safe?
Yes, Wadena County is safer than 66% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
Compare Wadena County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Wadena County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Wadena 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.
Wadena County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Wadena County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Wadena County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Wadena County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Wadena County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Wadena 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.