What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Lake Forest?
Lake Forest is ranked #11 of 34 eligible neighborhoods in Saint Louis Park; #60 of 275 eligible neighborhoods in MN; and #838 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Lake Forest
Saint Louis Park, MN | Hennepin County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
73.3
Stability and Strength
80.2
Value Opportunity
65.1
Momentum
73.7
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Saint Louis Park, MN |
| County | Hennepin County |
| National rank | #838 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #60 of 275 |
| City rank | #11 of 34 |
| County rank | #41 of 185 |
| National percentile | 94.4 |
| National band | TOP_10_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $834,941 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 2.6% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.48% |
| Home value to income ratio | 6.22 |
| Median household income | $134,339 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 84.9% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 2.8% |
| Homeownership rate | 95.4% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 3.8% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 59.8% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Lake Forest
Is Lake Forest one of the best neighborhoods in Saint Louis Park?
Lake Forest has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 73.3 and a city ranking of #11 of 34 eligible neighborhoods in Saint Louis Park.
How much are homes worth in Lake Forest?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Lake Forest is approximately $834,941.
Are home values rising or falling in Lake Forest?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 2.6% year over year and 0.48% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Lake Forest?
Lake Forest has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 73.7. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Lake Forest?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $134,339.
How affordable is Lake Forest relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 6.22. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Lake Forest primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 95.4%.
What is the unemployment rate in Lake Forest?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 2.8%.
How educated are residents of Lake Forest?
Approximately 84.9% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Lake Forest face high rent burden?
Approximately 59.8% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Lake Forest?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications38
Estimated originations27
Home-purchase applications18
Origination rate71.5%
Home-purchase share48.7%
Average application loan$390,391
Total application loan amount$14,719,396
National application rank#8,364 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications 3.1% YoY; originations 10.6% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.