Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,960, settled in 1855.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Afton grades B+ overall, ranked 162nd of 271 in Minnesota. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $133K and its public schools beat 85% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $724K, 7.3 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. 59% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Afton, above both the Minnesota town median (33%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Belwin Conservancy, at 1,393 acres with 4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Afton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Afton beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Afton | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 8.9% |
Where Afton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Afton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 130 in 1880, 2,955 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 2 maps from 1946 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Afton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
14 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
23 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
17 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
18 mi LandmarkFort SnellingU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Snelling: en:User:The Statue With The Dictionary, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Afton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Afton.
Afton has less tooth loss than most of Minnesota and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Minnesota.
At 7.3 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income, the typical home (about $724K) costs more against local pay than in 97% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; St. Marys Point is next at $487K.
98% of Afton households own their home. The typical Afton home is worth about $724,000, up 2.9% in a year, about twice the Minnesota typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
23 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Afton’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Afton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.5% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Afton State Park | 12 mi | 819 |
| 2. Stagecoach Prairie | 5.7 mi | 290 |
| 3. Belwin Conservancy | 4 mi | 1,393 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Minnesota is tooth loss: 3.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 8.9% statewide. Against the 4,231 U.S. towns with household incomes like Afton’s, it is healthier than 75%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
23% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Afton. Only 5 of the 271 Minnesota towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Afton. 9.6% of adults smoke cigarettes in Afton.
| Afton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Afton | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.3% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 11.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 346 in 2013 to 468. 27.5% of workers work from home, against 17.6% across Minnesota.
Most working residents leave Afton for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Afton is 28 minutes. Since 2013, Afton has added 122 jobs, to 468 in 2023.
| Afton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $133,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1% | 9.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The U Of Mn St Paul weather station, 19 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 83% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 6.7°.
Afton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Afton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 7°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Afton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
5 within 15 miles of the center of Afton
About 4 of every 100 Afton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 places in Afton on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
Afton ( AF-tən) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,955 at the 2020 United States census. It lies on a small bay where Valley Creek empties into the St. Croix River, several miles north of its confluence with the Mississippi River. Afton is well known for Afton Alps, the largest ski and snowboard area in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It is home to Afton State Park on the St. Croix River. Due to these two destinations and its quaint small-town appearance in a major metropolitan area, Afton receives a fair amount of local tourism in the form of day trips. The 2018 US Winter Olympic Gold Medalist cross-country skier Jessie Diggins is from Afton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Afton.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton | #162 | B+ | D | — | A | A |
| St. Marys Point | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lake St. Croix Beach | — | — | B− | — | A | A− |
| West Lakeland Township | #60 | A | C | — | A | A |
| Denmark Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | A− |
| Woodbury | #92 | A | C− | B | A− | A+ |
| Lakeland | — | — | B− | — | A | A− |
Lake St. Croix Beach, Denmark Township and Lakeland have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Afton, Lake St. Croix Beach, West Lakeland Township, Denmark Township and Lakeland report no FBI crime data of their own. St. Marys Point isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Afton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Afton grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #162 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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