Best PlacesWillow Creek, MN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Willow Creek, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Willow Creek ranks 17,332nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Willow Creek
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.
Willow Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Willow Creek ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 120 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 76% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 74% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 72% of towns
Where Willow Creek ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Willow Creek
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Willow Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,815, 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 Willow Creek's effective rate of 0.99%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Willow Creek
Willow Creek's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Willow Creek.
Who works in Willow Creek, and how
Work in Willow Creek centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Willow Creek
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Willow Creek.
What the weather is like in Willow Creek, month by month
Willow Creek sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 17° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 62° | 50° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Willow Creek
The nearest airport, Mason City Municipal, is about 69 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Willow Creek
Schools across Willow Creek average a B−, better than 62% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lk Crystal Wellcome Memorial ElA · 70% proficient
- Madelia ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
- Truman ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Blue Earth Area MiddleC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Maple River SecondaryA− · 59% proficient
- Lk Crystal-wellcome Memorial SecC+ · 39% proficient
- Blue Earth Area SecondaryC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Willow Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Willow Creek 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 Willow Creek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Willow Creek
Is Willow Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Willow Creek ranks 17,332nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, the weather, and health care access, and lowest on tree cover and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Willow Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,884. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $79,815 median income, cost of living beats 66% of towns.
Is Willow Creek safe?
Yes, Willow Creek is safer than 67% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $254 per resident a year.
Compare Willow Creek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Willow Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Willow Creek 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.
Willow Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Willow Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Willow Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Willow Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Willow Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Willow Creek 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.