Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,674, settled in 1874. 3.7 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Minnesota town.
The best of Canby’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and safety and an A− for walkability; the weakest is a D for incomes. 39% of working residents work locally in Canby, above both the Minnesota town median (9.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On incomes, just 24 of Minnesota’s 574 towns do worse. Only 20 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score higher on civic life. Canby has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them John G. Lund House and Canby Commercial Historic District (Additional Documentation). Canby has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Canby beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Canby is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 331 in 1880, 1,695 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1926 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Canby, 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 Canby.
Canby’s property crime rate is 3 per 1,000 residents, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 8.7 and U.S. towns at 9.9.
| Canby | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Canby Public School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Canby Secondary, with 300 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canby ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 304 | A |
| Canby SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 300 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Canby’s median rent is $588 a month. Typical home values rose 5.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Canby | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $588 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Canby has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 275 Minnesota towns, just 8 have a higher July high than Canby.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Canby’s working residents works in town. 15% of Canby residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Canby grew to 988 in 2023, 241 more than in 2013.
| Canby | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Canby since 1994.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Canby beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in Canby.
| Canby | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 31% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 23% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Canby | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 76.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.8 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Canby is 0.8 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Canby; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Canby residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
3 places in Canby on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Canby.
City in Minnesota, United States
Canby is a city in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Canby.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canby | — | — | A | A | A− | B− |
| Norman Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hammer Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Canby has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Norman Township and Hammer Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Canby with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.7 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Minnesota town.
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.
9 notable people were born here, including Jerome Clark and Lee Savold.
