Best PlacesWest Albion, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Albion, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Albion ranks 6,134th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Albion
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 Albion's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Albion ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of towns
- Household income$100,821 median, better than 85% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 83% of towns
Where West Albion ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,079 a month, better than only 20% of towns
- Short commute32.2 minutes each way, better than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Albion
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Albion home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,821, 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 West Albion's effective rate of 0.78%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in West Albion
West Albion runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 West Albion.
Who works in West Albion, and how
Work in West Albion centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Albion
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Albion.
What the weather is like in West Albion, month by month
West Albion sees roughly 112 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 9° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 60° | 49° | 40° |
Flying in and out of West Albion
The nearest airport, St. Cloud Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Albion
Schools across West Albion average a B+, better than 77% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cokato ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Annandale Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dassel-cokato MiddleA · 67% proficient
- Annandale Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Dassel-cokato Senior HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Annandale Senior HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Albion school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Albion 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 Albion against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Albion
Is West Albion a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Albion ranks 6,134th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, state infrastructure, and health care access, and lowest on tree cover and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Albion expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $363,905. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $100,821 median income, cost of living beats 83% of towns.
Is West Albion safe?
Yes, West Albion is safer than 98% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $141 per resident a year.
Compare West Albion with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Albion. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Albion 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 Albion detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Albion: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Albion: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Albion: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Albion: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Albion 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.