Big LakeMN
With 378 residents, it is a town in Minnesota.
Is Big Lake a good place to live?
Big Lake’s typical rent is $99 a month, where Minnesota’s towns sit at $1,196 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Big Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
378 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Big Lake: who provides what
Big Lake is unincorporated, so Carlton County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Big Lake.
With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Big Lake’s workers commute out
The top destinations are Cloquet (40%), Duluth (18%) and Carlton (4%). Big Lake’s average commute stands at 28 minutes. The share of residents in Big Lake who live below the poverty line: 13%. The median commute is under 16 miles.
| Big Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Top of a low hazard risk in Big Lake: cold waves
Of the losses FEMA expects here, 62% come from cold waves and 29% from inland flooding. Big Lake’s FEMA risk score comes in at 32 of 100. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect snowy winters and pleasant summers in Big Lake
In Big Lake, the typical July afternoon high is 78°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Big Lake stands out in Minnesota and nationally: a larger share of its adults have diabetes
Among adults in Big Lake, 25% say their health is fair or poor. No town among the 272 in Minnesota we compare has a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Big Lake. Two figures for adults in the town: 21% smoke cigarettes, 17% report frequent physical distress. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Big Lake is ahead of Minnesota on 1 and behind on 21.
| Big Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 10% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 16% | 19% |
| What stands out | Big Lake | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 76.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.6% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0% of Big Lake is conserved land
1.0 miles of trail. For Big Lake, the trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Big Lake
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Big Lake
About 6 of every 100 Big Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
100% of working residents leave Big Lake for work
Where Big Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Big Lake
Census-designated place in Minnesota, United States
Big Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Perch Lake Township, Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 443 as of the 2010 census. Carlton County Road 25 (Mission Road) and County 7 (Cary Road) are two of the main routes in the community. State Highway 210 (MN 210) and the community of Sawyer are both nearby. Big Lake is located 10 miles west of Cloquet.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,309 ft
Questions about Big Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Big Lake, MN a good place to live?
Big Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.