Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,935, settled in 1856.
Blooming Prairie’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and cost of living and an A− for schools. 30% of residents are 65 or older in Blooming Prairie, above both the Minnesota town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Only 19 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score higher on walkability. Only 41 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score higher on history. Blooming Prairie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Blooming Prairie beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Blooming Prairie Elementary | PK–4 | 341 |
| Blooming Prairie Intermediate Schoo | 5–6 | 138 |
| Blooming Prairie High School | 7–12 | 385 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Blooming Prairie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 338 in 1880, 1,974 in 2020. The archive holds 19 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Blooming Prairie, 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 Blooming Prairie.
The largest public high school is Blooming Prairie High School, with 385 students. Public schools: the Blooming Prairie Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blooming Prairie ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 341 | A− |
| Blooming Prairie High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 385 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
College graduates make up 30% of adults 25 and older, against 39% across Minnesota. Blooming Prairie’s median age stands at 44.2 years. In Blooming Prairie, nearly a quarter of residents are under 18, against 23% in Minnesota’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns.
| Blooming Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 44.2 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 23% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.8 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Blooming Prairie | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.8% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.3% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.2% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.6% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.8% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.2% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.1% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.4% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.4% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Home values are up 4.1% over the year to September 2026. 87% of households live in a home they own in Blooming Prairie.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Compared with just over two thirds of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Blooming Prairie is lower. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 38% come from inland flooding and 22% from tornadoes. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The range runs from 6° on a January night to 81° on a July afternoon, with about 43 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Employers in Blooming Prairie shed 44 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 714. The town’s typical journey to work is 20 minutes. The top destinations are Owatonna (26%), Rochester (8%) and Austin (5%). 17% of Blooming Prairie working residents work locally.
| Blooming Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The level of property crime for Blooming Prairie comes to 2.1 per 1,000 residents. Blooming Prairie's reported crime rate is well below Minnesota's. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025.
| Blooming Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The share of adults in Blooming Prairie who feel lonely: 31%. Among adults in the town, 26% get no exercise outside work and 37% have obesity.
| Blooming Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 23% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Blooming Prairie | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.8% | 8.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.6% | 5.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.9% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Blooming Prairie. Close and well known come first.
14 mi MuseumSpam Museum
18 mi MuseumMinnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children25 mi Zoo & aquariumOxbow Park and Zollman Zoo
14 mi MuseumJay C. Hormel Nature Center
32 mi MuseumRochester Art Center
27 mi MuseumWaseca County Historical Society MuseumSpam Museum: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jay C. Hormel Nature Center: Julie Champlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rochester Art Center: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2 · Waseca County Historical Society Museum: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2
1 within 15 miles of the center of Blooming Prairie
About 3 of every 100 Blooming Prairie residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Blooming Prairie is a city in Dodge and Steele counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 1,974 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is located within Steele County; only a small part of the city extends into Dodge County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Blooming Prairie.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blooming Prairie · Blooming Prairie Township | — | — | A | — | A− | B |
| Westfield Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Blooming Prairie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Blooming Prairie reports no FBI crime data of its own. Westfield Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Blooming Prairie Township and Blooming Prairie are one community, graded once. Compare Blooming Prairie with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
