Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brainerd gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $313K, 4.4 years of the Brainerd area’s $71K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 238th of 271 in Minnesota. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $56K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line, and its police reported 36 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, it has 7 miles of trail. 29% of working residents work locally in Brainerd, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 9.7% and U.S. towns at 8%. Brainerd is home to Central Lakes College-Brainerd. Brainerd is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where Brainerd beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Brainerd is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,865 in 1880, 14,395 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1915 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brainerd, 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 Brainerd.
Brainerd draws workers from Baxter and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
9,688 jobs are based in Brainerd, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
The top destinations are Baxter (17%), Nisswa (3%) and St. Cloud (2%). Brainerd had 9,688 jobs in 2023, up 949 from 2013. Its average commute stands at 20 minutes. Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Brainerd | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $56,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Three of the 13 schools are below, and why each made the list. The public schools here belong to the Brainerd Public School District. 5 public schools serve Brainerd, with 1,343 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 407 | B |
| Brainerd Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,805 | B+ |
| Lowell ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 355 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
7.4 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Northland Arboretum, 214 acres with 1.9 miles of trail. Brainerd’s density of trails stands at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Brainerd | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.1% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northland Arboretum | 1.9 mi | 214 |
| 2. Gregory Park | 0.7 mi | 14 |
| 3. Kiwanis Park | 0.6 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 409 to 262 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Brainerd’s rate of reported violence comes in at 2.5 per 1,000 residents. In Brainerd, the property offense rate is 15.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Brainerd | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 0.7°, colder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 80.2°.
Brainerd’s January low is 1°F. About 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Brainerd | 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
Households in Brainerd have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2022. Compared with 63% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. FEMA puts 52% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 32% to cold waves. One flood insurance claim has been paid in the town since 2001.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of households in Brainerd who live in a home they own: 57%. The typical home value locally is about $313,000, up 3.3% in a year, 10% below the Minnesota typical home. The midpoint rent for Brainerd comes to $827 a month.
| Brainerd | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $827 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,756 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brainerd’s, it is healthier than 78%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its B−, from Long Lake Township (B) to Baxter (B+).
Brainerd: 39% of adults have obesity. In Brainerd, 73% of adults had a checkup this year, and 19% binge drink.
| Brainerd | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 75% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Brainerd | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.2% | 8.9% |
| More smokers | 17.7% | 13.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.5% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brainerd. Close and well known come first.
28 mi LakeMille Lacs Lake8 mi Theme parkPaul Bunyan Land
17 mi AttractionKenney Lake Overlook
25 mi MuseumMille Lacs Indian Museum2 mi GardenNorthland ArboretumMille Lacs Lake: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kenney Lake Overlook: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mille Lacs Indian Museum: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brainerd
About 4 of every 100 Brainerd residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Where Brainerd’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Brainerd on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
Brainerd ( BRAY-nərd) is a city in and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with the Crow Wing River, having been founded as a site for a railroad crossing above the confluence. The Brainerd micropolitan area includes Cass and Crow Wing counties and had a population of 96,189 at the 2020 census. The city is well known for being the partial setting of the 1996 film Fargo.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Brainerd.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brainerd | #238 | C+ | B+ | C− | B+ | B− |
| Oak Lawn Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | B |
| Baxter | #245 | C+ | C− | C | B+ | B+ |
| Crow Wing Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Long Lake Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
Oak Lawn Township, Crow Wing Township and Long Lake Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Oak Lawn Township, Crow Wing Township and Long Lake Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brainerd with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brainerd grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #238 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Brainerd reports more crime per resident than 79% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade: 36 violent and 226 property crimes in 2025.
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 B+.
