Best PlacesMinnesota Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the Minnesota area, 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.
Minnesota ranks 8th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on taxes and childcare costs. It does better on what local pay buys, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Minnesota
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.
The best areas in Minnesota
The parts of Minnesota, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Scott County, Carver County & Blue Earth County
Hennepin County
Dakota County & Olmsted County
Ramsey County, Anoka County & Washington County
Kandiyohi County, Chippewa County & Pope County
Lyon County, Nobles County & Redwood County
Clay County, Otter Tail County & Beltrami County
Crow Wing County, Itasca County & Cass County
St. Louis County
Minnesota shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Minnesota's strengths and weaknesses
Minnesota ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys, civic engagement, and state infrastructure are the strongest pieces.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Taxes, childcare costs, and a weak job market hold the score down. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Minnesota ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of states
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of states
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of states
Where Minnesota ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of states
- Cheap childcare$1,406 a month, better than only 15% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of states
- QuietBetter than only 21% of states
- Low property taxBetter than only 35% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Minnesota
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Minnesota home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $98,654, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses Minnesota's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten 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 Minnesota
Minnesota'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 Minnesota.
Who works in Minnesota, and how
Work in Minnesota centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Minnesota
Minnesota has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and more parkland per resident than 96% of states. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in Minnesota, month by month
Minnesota sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 10. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 18° | 10° |
| April | 58° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
The best schools in and around Minnesota
Schools across Minnesota average a B−, better than 71% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Atheneum ElementaryA+ · 93% proficient
- Gate 4/5A+ · 88% proficient
- St. Croix Preparatory Academy LowerA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- St. Croix Prep Academy MiddleA+ · 76% proficient
- Wayzata East MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- West Lyon Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top high schools
- Secondary LighthouseA+ · 80% proficient
- Wayzata HighA · 79% proficient
- Harris-lake Park High SchoolA · 77% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Minnesota school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Minnesota 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 Minnesota against the other 49 states.
Who Minnesota suits
Families
Schools beat 71% of the country and crime runs low. Compare areas on the map for the best fit.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of states and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Minnesota
Is Minnesota a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Minnesota ranks 8th of 50 states. It scores highest on what local pay buys, civic engagement, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Minnesota expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $342,884. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $98,654 median income, cost of living beats 97% of states.
Is Minnesota safe?
Yes, Minnesota is safer than 67% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $332 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Minnesota?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 27 with lows near 10. The area gets its pleasant stretches in spring and fall.
What are the best areas in Minnesota?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Scott County, Carver County & Blue Earth County, Hennepin County, and Dakota County & Olmsted County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Minnesota good for families?
Schools beat 71% of states, and safety is best away from the urban core. Home prices are usually the catch in the strongest school areas.
Is Minnesota good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of states, and internet is widely advertised, so a big-employer salary stretches further here.
Compare Minnesota with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Minnesota. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Minnesota 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.
Minnesota detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Minnesota: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Minnesota: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Minnesota: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Minnesota: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Minnesota 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.
- 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.