Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median home value$450,700
Minneapolis $374,000
Median rent$1,654/mo
Minneapolis $1,440/mo
Cost-burdened households22%
Minneapolis 28%
Prior Lake
Scott County28,016 residents2 school districts
67
C+
Suburbgrade score
13th of 60 Minneapolis suburbs. Strong on employment & income and schools, held back by amenities.
67
Minneapolis median 62
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Prior Lake yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 67 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Prior Lake is like to live in, by category
Bars show Prior Lake against Minneapolis. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 75/100
B
Within-state proficiency88th pct
Minneapolis median 72nd pct
Student–teacher ratio17.3
Minneapolis median 16.1
Graduation rate91%
Minneapolis median 89%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Housing cost index116
Minneapolis 100
Eff. tax rate0.91%
Minneapolis 1.04%
Local sales tax8.14%
Minneapolis median 8.14%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 64/100
C+
Mean commute24.7 min
Minneapolis 23.9 min
Under 30 minutes62%
Minneapolis 68%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
Minneapolis median 6.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 53/100
C−
Restaurants & cafés18
Minneapolis median 35 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Minneapolis median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks68
Minneapolis median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 79/100
B+
Median household income$134,255
Minneapolis $99,833
Unemployment1.5%
Minneapolis 4.1%
Professional occupations49%
Minneapolis 49%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Prior Lake yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Prior Lake on amenities
Prior Lake's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Minneapolis18 mi from Prior LakeA+ 63 C+ St. Paul23 mi from Prior LakeA 59 C St. Louis Park16 mi from Prior LakeA− 71 B− Roseville24 mi from Prior LakeB+ 65 C+ Richfield13 mi from Prior LakeB+ 59 C Crystal22 mi from Prior LakeB+ 64 C+ Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Prior Lake
Is Prior Lake, MN a good place to live?
Prior Lake scores 67 out of 100, 13th of 60 Minneapolis suburbs. It is strongest on employment & income and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Prior Lake expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $450,700, 21% above the Minneapolis median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.91%. $1,654/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Prior Lake?
Schools grade B. The districts serving Prior Lake sit at the 88th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 91% graduation rate and a 17.3 student–teacher ratio. Prior Lake is served by Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools and Shakopee Public School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Prior Lake?
The mean commute is 24.7 min, with 62% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 25% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Prior Lake?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 18 restaurants and cafés and 68 parks, which grades C− on amenities.
Are the homes in Prior Lake old or new?
The median home in Prior Lake was built in 1998 — newer than the Minneapolis median of 1981. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 87% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six Minneapolis lists
Best Minneapolis suburbs for familiesMost affordable Minneapolis suburbsBest Minneapolis suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown MinneapolisMost walkable Minneapolis suburbsBest Minneapolis suburbs for young professionalsCompare Prior Lake
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