Best PlacesWhite Bear Lake, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around White Bear Lake, 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.
White Bear Lake ranks 608th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Childcare costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on civic engagement.
The best neighborhoods in White Bear Lake
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.
White Bear Lake's strengths and weaknesses
Where White Bear Lake ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of cities
Where White Bear Lake ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,682 a month, better than only 8% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 28% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 36% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 36% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in White Bear Lake
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median White Bear Lake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $90,326; 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 White Bear Lake's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 White Bear Lake
White Bear Lake runs older than the country, 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 White Bear Lake.
Who works in White Bear Lake, and how
Work in White Bear Lake centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in White Bear Lake
White Bear Lake has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of cities and more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of White Bear Lake and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in White Bear Lake, month by month
White Bear Lake sees roughly 128 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 White Bear Lake
Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain sits about 16 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 White Bear Lake
Schools across White Bear Lake average a B−, better than 57% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Level Up AcademyB+ · 55% proficient
- Matoska InternationalB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mahtomedi MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Central MiddleB · 47% proficient
- Sunrise Park MiddleB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Mahtomedi Senior HighA · 72% proficient
- North Senior HighB · 46% proficient
- South Campus Education CenterB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every White Bear Lake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
White Bear Lake 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 White Bear Lake against the other 2,097 cities.
Who White Bear Lake suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 21% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 74% of cities and health care access beats 81%.
Common questions about living in White Bear Lake
Is White Bear Lake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, White Bear Lake ranks 608th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on civic engagement, state infrastructure, and a stable housing market, and lowest on childcare costs 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 White Bear Lake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $345,354. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $90,326 median income, cost of living beats 62% of cities.
Is White Bear Lake safe?
White Bear Lake is safer than 46% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in White Bear Lake?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 26 with lows near 12. That works out to about 128 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of cities.
Is White Bear Lake good for families?
Schools beat 57% of cities, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $1,682 a month.
Compare White Bear Lake with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to White Bear Lake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in White Bear Lake 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.
White Bear Lake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for White Bear Lake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in White Bear Lake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of White Bear Lake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in White Bear Lake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
White Bear Lake 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.