Best PlacesWaseca County, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Waseca 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.
Waseca County ranks 743rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Waseca 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.
Waseca County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Waseca County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of counties
Where Waseca County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$989 a month, better than only 18% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Waseca County
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Waseca County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,498, 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 Waseca County's effective rate of 1.19%, 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 Waseca County
Waseca 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 Waseca County.
Who works in Waseca County, and how
Work in Waseca County centers on manufacturing 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 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Waseca County
Waseca County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Waseca County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Waseca County growing, and who is moving in?
Waseca County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Minneapolis, MN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Waseca County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Waseca County, month by month
Waseca County sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 81° | 71° | 61° |
| October | 59° | 48° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Waseca County
The nearest airport, Rochester International, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 59 miles away.
The best schools in and around Waseca County
Schools across Waseca County average a C+, better than 54% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Waterville ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- St. Clair ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Janesville-waldorf-pemberton El.em.B+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waseca Intermediate SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Waterville-elysian-morristown Jr.C · 35% proficient
- Waseca Junior HighC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Maple River SecondaryA− · 59% proficient
- Owatonna Senior HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Waseca Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Waseca County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Waseca 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 Waseca County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Waseca County
Is Waseca County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Waseca County ranks 743rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, civic engagement, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Waseca County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,110. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $73,498 median income, cost of living beats 63% of counties.
Is Waseca County safe?
Yes, Waseca County is safer than 97% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
Compare Waseca County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Waseca County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Waseca 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.
Waseca County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Waseca County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Waseca County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Waseca County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Waseca County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Waseca 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.