What makes one neighborhood more desireable than another? When TWIN CITIES METRO magazine compiled their ranked list of Twin Cities neighborhoods they decided to use data rather than intuition in coming up with scores to rank their list: housing cost (15%), transit (13%), recreation (13%), safety (12%), schools (10%), arts & culture (10%), diversity (8%), restaurants (6%), retail outlets (5%), food/gas (4%), bars (4%).
It's interesting because the list contains some surprises... and unexpected omissions. But putting cost at the top of the criteria brings reality to the list and helps set a balance between affordability and neighborhood amenities to produce a list of neighborhoods worth considering... hmmm, sounds like setting priorities for choosing a home as well as a neighborhood.
Here is TWIN CITIES METRO magazine's list of the top 30 neighborhoods in Minneapolis, as well as a map that indicates how all 85 neighborhoods scored out of a total possible 100 points. Links are to some related neighborhood posts I have made throughout the years.
- Downtown West
- Loring Park
- Diamond Lake
- Marcy Holmes
- Cedar Riverside
- Howe (at the heart of the larger Longfellow community)
- Seward
- Lowry Hill East
- Longfellow
- CARAG
- Elliot Park
- North Loop
- Hiawatha (home of Minnehaha Falls Park)
- Fulton
- Tangletown
- Wenonah
- Lyndale
- Prospect Park-East River Road
- Field
- Minnehaha
- Whittier
- Hale
- Standish
- Linden Hills
- Windom
- Bryn Mawr
- Keewaydin
- Ericcson
- Northrop
- Phillips West
Read more at TWIN CITIES METRO... The Top Ten Neighborhoods in Minneapolis... Minneapolis Neighborhoods: The Runners-Up.
