Best PlacesWest 7th, St. Paul, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West 7th, 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.
West 7th, St. Paul ranks 1,836th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West 7th, 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.
West 7th, St. Paul's strengths and weaknesses
Where West 7th, St. Paul ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where West 7th, St. Paul ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 30% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 33% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West 7th, St. Paul
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West 7th, St. Paul home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $80,457; 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 West 7th, St. Paul's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West 7th, St. Paul
West 7th, St. Paul'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 West 7th, St. Paul.
Who works in West 7th, St. Paul, and how
Work in West 7th, St. Paul centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in West 7th, St. Paul
West 7th, St. Paul has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West 7th, St. Paul and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West 7th, St. Paul, month by month
West 7th, St. Paul sees roughly 127 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 West 7th, St. Paul
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 6 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 West 7th, St. Paul
Schools across West 7th, St. Paul average a C, better than 43% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Nova Classical Academy Lower SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Adams Magnet ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
- St. Paul School Of Northern LightsC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highland Park Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Hidden River Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Global Arts Plus UpperD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Nova Classical Academy Upper SchoolA · 77% proficient
- Central Senior HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Highland Park Senior HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West 7th, St. Paul school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West 7th, 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 West 7th, St. Paul against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West 7th, St. Paul
Is West 7th, St. Paul a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West 7th, St. Paul ranks 1,836th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state infrastructure, and biking, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West 7th, St. Paul expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $296,442. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $80,457 median income, cost of living beats 69% of neighborhoods.
Is West 7th, St. Paul safe?
West 7th, St. Paul is safer than 42% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $527 per resident a year.
Compare West 7th, St. Paul with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West 7th, St. Paul. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West 7th, 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.
West 7th, St. Paul detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West 7th, St. Paul: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West 7th, St. Paul: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West 7th, St. Paul: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West 7th, St. Paul: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West 7th, 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.