Best PlacesWhite Earth, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around White Earth, 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 Earth ranks 42,422nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in White Earth
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 Earth's strengths and weaknesses
Where White Earth ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 147 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 76% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 74% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of towns
Where White Earth ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$50,162 median, better than only 12% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in White Earth
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median White Earth home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,162, 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 White Earth's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in White Earth
White Earth runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for White Earth.
Who works in White Earth, and how
Work in White Earth centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in White Earth
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across White Earth.
What the weather is like in White Earth, month by month
White Earth sees roughly 147 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 20, with lows near 4. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20° | 12° | 4° |
| April | 50° | 40° | 32° |
| July | 80° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 54° | 45° | 38° |
Flying in and out of White Earth
The nearest airport, Hector International, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 198 miles away.
The best schools in and around White Earth
Schools across White Earth average a D+, better than 19% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Roosevelt ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Ogema ElementaryD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Detroit Lakes MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Waubun ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Detroit Lakes Senior HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Waubun SecondaryD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every White Earth school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
White Earth 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 Earth against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in White Earth
Is White Earth a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, White Earth ranks 42,422nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and clean air, and lowest on a weak job market and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is White Earth expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,542. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $50,162 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is White Earth safe?
White Earth is safer than 24% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
Compare White Earth with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to White Earth. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in White Earth 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 Earth detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for White Earth: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in White Earth: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of White Earth: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in White Earth: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
White Earth 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.