Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,045, settled in 1858.
Alexandria's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B+, 144th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. Its public schools beat 84% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns. 56% of working residents work locally in Alexandria, above both the Minnesota town median (9.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Alexandria is home to Alexandria Technical & Community College.
Where Alexandria beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Elementary | K–5 | 481 |
| Voyager Elementary | K–5 | 446 |
| Woodland Elementary School | K–5 | 410 |
Census counts: 1,355 in 1880, 14,335 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1966 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Alexandria is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alexandria, 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 Alexandria.
Alexandria carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from La Grand Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
13,271 jobs are based in Alexandria, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
The average trip to work in Alexandria is 18 minutes. Jobs based in Alexandria grew to 13,271 in 2023, 651 more than in 2013. The median household income in Alexandria is $61,000.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.1% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Alexandria Public School District. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 898 | B+ |
| Alexandria Area High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,315 | B |
| Lincoln ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 481 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $275 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Alexandria’s FEMA risk score is 3 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9.6 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Fillmore Park, at 22 acres.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fillmore Park | — | 22 |
| 2. City Park | 0.1 mi | 19 |
| 3. Summer Meadows Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,277 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alexandria’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 57% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Alexandria beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Alexandria.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 75% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Alexandria | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.4% | 8.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.1% | 5.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.7% | 3.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 0.9°, colder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 79.8°. The Glenwood 2wnw weather station, 15 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 139 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 82% of Minnesota places with climate records.
Alexandria has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (38% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). Alexandria has grown 4.6% since 2020, to 15,045 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 20% of Alexandria residents are under 18.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 23% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Alexandria | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.5% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.2% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.7% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.9% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.1% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.3% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Alexandria home is worth about $314,000, up 3.5% in a year, 10% below the Minnesota typical home.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $934 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 246 to 121 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Alexandria reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 56% report less.
| Alexandria | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.2 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Alexandria
About 5 of every 100 Alexandria residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
11,070 counted in 2010 and 14,335 in 2020; an estimated 15,045 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in Alexandria on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Alexandria.
City in Minnesota, United States
Alexandria is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,335 as of the 2020 census. I-94 passes through Alexandria, along with Minnesota State Highways 27 and 29. It is ten miles (16 km) south of Lake Carlos State Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Alexandria.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | #144 | B+ | B− | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Alexandria Township | #87 | A | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| La Grand Township | #131 | A− | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Lake Mary Township | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
| Carlos Township | — | — | C | — | A− | A− |
| Hudson Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lake Mary Township and Carlos Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Alexandria Township, La Grand Township, Lake Mary Township and Carlos Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Hudson Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Alexandria with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Alexandria grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #144 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($79,043 across the Alexandria, MN area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
16 notable people were born here, including Peter Krause and Duane Hanson.
