Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Anoka is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, ranked 163rd of 271 in Minnesota, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 72% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $76K. A typical home there costs about $334K, 3.3 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. Only 52 of Minnesota’s 575 towns score lower on hazard risk. Anoka’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both Minnesota’s towns (0.5) and U.S. towns (0.4). Anoka is home to Anoka Technical College.
Where Anoka beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1844, comes before those of 98% of the Minnesota towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,706 in 1880, 17,921 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 6 maps from 1902 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 Anoka is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Anoka. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
17 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
18 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
23 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
19 mi LakeBde Maka Ska
21 mi LakeLake MinnetonkaU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bde Maka Ska: Tyler Vigen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Minnetonka: Dan, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Anoka, 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 Anoka.
Anoka draws workers from Coon Rapids and beyond and has fewer 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding).
For Anoka, that is above both the Minnesota town median (4.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 7.1 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. Anoka Nature Preserve, at 209 acres with 3.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anoka Nature Preserve | 3.4 mi | 209 |
| 2. Mississippi River Park / King's Island | — | 87 |
| 3. Sunny Acres Park | — | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Anoka-Hennepin School District. Two of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anoka Middle School for the ArtsLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,587 | C+ |
| Anoka High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,348 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
14,580 jobs are based in Anoka, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Anoka for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Anoka has added 2,078 jobs, to 14,580 in 2023. The top destinations are Minneapolis (11%), Coon Rapids (9%) and St.
| Anoka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.3% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $464 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Anoka’s FEMA risk score is 73 of 100. Since 1984, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Anoka.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Andover 1n weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 10 days a year reach 90°: fewer than most of the country, but more than 76% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.2°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 81% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 5.2°.
Anoka has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Anoka is 5°F. About 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Anoka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 5°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 71% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Anoka beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 73% of adults had a checkup this year in Anoka.
| Anoka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 75% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 25% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Anoka | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.3% | 8.9% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 26.1% | 22.3% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 64.1% | 67.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 281 to 192 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
57% of Anoka households own their home. The typical Anoka home is worth about $334,000, up 2.3% in a year, close to the Minnesota typical home.
| Anoka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,269 a month | $1,192 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Anoka
About 4 of every 100 Anoka residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
8 places in Anoka on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Anoka.
City in Minnesota, United States
Anoka ( ə-NOH-kə) is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 17,921 at the 2020 census. Anoka is a northern suburb of the Twin Cities, at the confluence of the Rum and Mississippi Rivers. It is nicknamed the "Halloween Capital of the World" because in 1920 it hosted one of the first Halloween parades. It continues to celebrate the holiday each year with several parades. U.S. Highways 10 / 169 and State Highway 47 are three of Anoka's main routes, and it had a station on the Northstar Line to Minneapolis.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Anoka.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anoka | #163 | B+ | B | B− | B+ | B |
| Ramsey | #84 | A | C | A | A− | A− |
| Coon Rapids | #174 | B+ | B− | C+ | B+ | B |
| Andover | #112 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Champlin | #91 | A | C | B | B+ | A |
| Dayton | #80 | A | C | A | B+ | A |
Andover reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Anoka with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Anoka grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #163 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B.
14 notable people were born here, including Garrison Keillor and Bonnie Erickson.
