Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Albert Lea gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $180K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Albert Lea area’s $71K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 246th of 271 in Minnesota. On the plus side, it has 7 miles of trail. 54% of working residents work locally in Albert Lea, above both the Minnesota town median (9.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On health, just 34 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Albert Lea City Hall and H. A. Paine House.
Where Albert Lea beats most towns.
Census counts: 262 in 1860, 18,492 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Albert Lea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Albert Lea, 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 Albert Lea.
Albert Lea has homes that are cheap against local pay, is safe by national standards but not by Minnesota’s and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
At 2.5 years of the Albert Lea area’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $181K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The median rent in Albert Lea is $857 a month. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $857 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Albert Lea Public School District. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 486 | C− |
| Albert Lea Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 1,196 | C |
| Lakeview ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 400 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
6.7 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bancroft Bay Park, at 27 acres.
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Edgewater Park | 0.4 mi | 20 |
| 2. Shoff Park | 0.3 mi | 21 |
| 3. Brookside Park | 0.3 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 26 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 78% of Minnesota’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 423 to 371 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Albert Lea’s property crime rate is 19.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Albert Lea 3se weather station, 5 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 88% of Minnesota places with climate records. January nights average 6.3°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 87% of Minnesota places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.2°.
Albert Lea has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
32% of Albert Lea adults get no exercise outside work. Albert Lea beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 17% of Albert Lea adults smoke cigarettes.
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Albert Lea | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 11.5% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 2013, Albert Lea has lost 1,701 jobs, to 8,626 in 2023. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Albert Lea. The top destinations are Austin (6%), Rochester (5%) and Owatonna (3%).
| Albert Lea | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 24 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Albert Lea.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Albert Lea; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Albert Lea residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
29 notable people were born in Albert Lea.
City in Minnesota, United States
Albert Lea ( AL-bərt LEE) is a city in Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates 35 and 90, about 90 miles (140 km) south of the Twin Cities. It is on the shores of Fountain Lake, Pickerel Lake, Albert Lea Lake, Goose Lake, School Lake, and Lake Chapeau. Fountain Lake and Albert Lea Lake are part of the Shell Rock River flowage. The city's early growth was based on agriculture, farming support services and manufacturing, and it was a significant rail center. At one time it was the site of Cargill's headquarters. Other manufacturing included Edwards Manufacturing (barn equipment), Sc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Albert Lea.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Lea · Albert Lea Township | #246 | C+ | A− | C | C+ | C+ |
| Bancroft Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pickerel Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bancroft Township and Pickerel Lake Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Albert Lea Township and Albert Lea are one community, graded once. Compare Albert Lea with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Albert Lea grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #246 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and C+ for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
29 notable people were born here, including Eddie Cochran and Richard Carlson.