BalatonMN
A town of 578, settled in 1879.
Is Balaton a good place to live?
Of the 232 Minnesota towns we compare, none has a lower value of a typical home than Balaton. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Yankton Wildlife Management Area, at 56 acres. Balaton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
578 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Balaton: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Balaton, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Balaton.
A home in Balaton is worth about $109K, on Zillow’s estimate
Home values are up 20% over the year to September 2026. In Balaton, the going rate for rent is $1,138 a month, near both the Minnesota town median ($1,196 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Balaton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,138 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most of Balaton’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.4 jobs for each of them
2.9% of Balaton working residents work locally, against 9.8% in Minnesota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. For residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 18%. Since 2013, Balaton has added 46 jobs, to 98 in 2023. The typical household income here is $55,000.
| Balaton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 9.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Balaton
In July, afternoons reach 82°; in January, nights fall to 6°, and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Balaton is
Among adults in Balaton, 37% have obesity. Against the Minnesota average, Balaton comes out ahead on 2 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 3. In Balaton, 29% of adults feel lonely, and 15% report frequent mental distress.
| Balaton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Balaton | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 71.3% | 67.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.4% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Balaton faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Of the losses FEMA expects in Balaton, 43% come from inland flooding and 17% from drought. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 60% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Balaton after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2019.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Conservation land takes up 5.5% of Balaton
0.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. In Balaton, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Balaton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Yankton Wildlife Management Area | — | 56 |
| 2. Knudson-Bosley Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Lake Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Balaton
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Balaton; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Balaton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
97% of working residents leave Balaton for work
Where Balaton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Balaton
City in Minnesota, United States
Balaton is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Balaton had a population of 595.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,542 ft
- ZIP code
- 56115
- Area code
- 507
Questions about Balaton
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Balaton, MN a good place to live?
Balaton has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.