Homes in Brooten are typically worth about $232,000, down 1.2% in a year, 34% below the Minnesota typical home. 73% of households own their home locally, against 75% in Minnesota’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns.

$232KZillow home value

	Brooten	Minnesota towns	U.S. towns
Median rent	$661 a month	$1,196 a month	$1,185 a month
Households that own their home	73%	75%	73%

Typical home value

Brooten$232K

Minnesota$349K

−1.2%

value change, 1 year

homes sold in May

Full pageBrooten’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page

Prices over the yearsDown 1.2% in a year Years of income to buyA typical home costs 4.8 years of income Rents$661 a month · Median rent Vs. the neighbors3 bordering towns

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Work & commute

Brooten stands out in Minnesota and nationally, with the median household income lower than most

Most working residents leave Brooten for work: only 4% work in town. 18% of residents live below the poverty line locally, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Half the trips to work are shorter than 21 miles. The top destinations are Belgrade (12%), Crow River Township (8%) and Paynesville (6%).

4%work in town

	Brooten	Minnesota towns	U.S. towns
Below the poverty line	18%	7%	9.6%
Median household income	$48,000	$90,000	$80,000
Working residents who work in town	4.4%	9.8%	8%
Average trip to work	24 minutes	23 minutes	25 minutes

Where working residents work

In Brooten4%

Belgrade12%

Crow River Township8%

Paynesville6%

St. Cloud6%

21 mi

median commute distance

187

jobs based in Brooten

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageBrooten’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here187 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work4% work in Brooten Commute times24 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 21 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Expect snowy winters and pleasant summers in Brooten

A winter brings about 50 inches of snow, with January nights at 2° and July afternoons at 81°.

50″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter6–23°

Spring32–53°

Summer57–79°

Fall36–55°

Oct 4

typical first frost

May 4

typical last frost

+1.8°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageBrooten’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 81°, January lows 2°Rain & snow50″ of snow a winter · 29 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.8° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Natural hazards

Brooten faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding

Compared with just over three fifths of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Brooten is lower. Expected losses in Brooten break down as 66% from inland flooding and 10% from tornadoes.

39risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingTornadoesHail

Full pageBrooten’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesLow risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters11 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get ready0.8 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Health

How healthy Brooten is

Brooten: 20% of adults say their health is fair or poor. Of 32 CDC measures, Brooten beats the Minnesota average on 1 and trails it on 13. Among adults here, 17% smoke cigarettes and 12% have diabetes.

	Brooten	Minnesota towns	U.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)	30%	30%	36%
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)	17%	14%	14%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)	12%	10%	12%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)	14%	12%	14%

32 measures vs. Minnesota

1 better18 too close to call13 worse

What stands out	Brooten	MN
More adults treating high blood pressure	79.4%	76.1%
More older adults who have lost all their teeth	16%	8.9%

Glacial Ridge Hospital

16.7 mi away · emergency room

2 of 3

care shortages: primary care, mental health

Full pageBrooten’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsMore smokers Hospitals & doctors nearby16.7 miles to an ER · Glacial Ridge Hospital How adults are doingMore adults in frequent physical distress Every CDC estimateBetter than MN on 1 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Outdoors

0% of Brooten is conserved land

0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.

0%conserved

conserved · 0 of 1,012 acres

0.0 mi

of trails · 0 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. City Park	—	5
2. Brooten Park	—	2

Full pageBrooten’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map0.0 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk5 acres · City Park Conserved land0% conserved · 0 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Brooten?”

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Brooten

18pages on Brooten

The big questions

Schools1 school HealthBetter than MN on 1 of 32 CDC measures Cost of living$232K typical home · down 1.2% in a year Work & commute$48K median household income · 187 jobs here Natural hazardsFEMA risk higher than 39% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

Outdoors0 mi of trails · 0% conserved land PlacesAttractions7 nearby · Kensington Runestone 30 mi LibraryBelgrade: Myrtle Mabee Public Library Colleges

The story

HistorySettled 1886 Town Hall & politicsOne full-time town employee per 325 residents Climate81° summer highs · 50″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookZIP code 56316 Town SquareNeighbors

After high school

Colleges nearby

None within 15 miles of Brooten; the nearest are

Ridgewater CollegeCommunity college · Public · Willmar25.1 mi$6,121 in-state tuition University of Minnesota-MorrisUniversity or college · Public · Morris38.4 mi$14,526 in-state tuition

About 1 of every 100 Brooten residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

A commuter town

96% of working residents leave Brooten for work

Where Brooten’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

187jobs based in Brooten

4%of working residents work in town

21 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Brooten

City in Minnesota, United States

Official town website ↗

Brooten is a city in Stearns and Pope counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, United States. The population was 626 as of the 2020 census. Almost the entire city is within Stearns County, with a small portion in Pope County. The Stearns County portion of Brooten is part of the St. Cloud metropolitan area.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area: 1.6 sq mi
Elevation: 1,312 ft
ZIP code: 56316

Questions about Brooten

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Brooten, MN a good place to live?

Brooten has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

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Is Brooten a good place to live?

650 people, and everyone knows the way

140 years in pictures

Moving to Brooten: who provides what

The data

The schools Brooten’s kids attend

The median rent in Brooten is lower than in the typical Minnesota or U.S. town