Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,018, founded in 1853.
Chatfield is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 1st of 271 in Minnesota. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, its schools outperform 91% of the state's, and a typical home costs about $358K, 3.9 years of the Rochester metro’s $92K median household income. Its lowest mark, a B+, is in health. On civic life, just 43 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do better. Chatfield has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Chatfield Public Library and George H. Haven House. Chatfield is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Chatfield beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Chatfield Elementary School | PK–6 | 469 |
| Chatfield Secondary | 7–12 | 423 |
| Focus Alp | 9–12 | 6 |
Where Chatfield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Chatfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 9,001 in 1880, a low of 1,228 in 1910, 2,997 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chatfield, 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 Chatfield.
Chatfield pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, sees little violent crime and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
Chatfield reports less crime per resident than 100% of the U.S. towns and cities we grade. Chatfield’s property crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents, against 8.7 in Minnesota’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Only 10 of the 167 Minnesota towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Chatfield.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its A for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $358K.
Its public schools are run by the Chatfield Public Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Chatfield Secondary, with 423 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfield Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 469 | A |
| Chatfield SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 423 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Chatfield for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Chatfield has lost 178 jobs, to 1,031 in 2023. 5.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Chatfield, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 7.1% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Chatfield beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 29% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Chatfield.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 75% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Chatfield | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 71.3% | 67.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Preston weather station, 13 miles away, records that 42 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 78% of Minnesota places with climate records. January nights average 6.2°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 84% of Minnesota places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.4°.
Chatfield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Chatfield’s January low is 6°F.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). 26% of Chatfield residents are under 18. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 34% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Chatfield | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.9% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.9% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.5% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.9% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.7% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Chatfield since 2000.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.4 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mill Creek Park, at 30 acres. The trail density in Chatfield is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill Creek Park | — | 30 |
| 2. Groen Park | — | 14 |
| 3. Hilltop Park (undeveloped) | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Chatfield home is worth about $358,000, up 3.3% in a year, close to the Minnesota typical home.
| Chatfield | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $748 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Chatfield; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Chatfield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
5 places in Chatfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Chatfield.
City in Minnesota, United States
Chatfield is a city in Fillmore and Olmsted counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 census. The city's area is split almost equally between the two counties. Chatfield is known as "The Gateway to Bluff Country" and "The Chosen Valley".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Chatfield.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfield · Chatfield Township | #1 | A+ | A | A+ | A | B+ |
| Elmira Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orion Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Elmira Township and Orion Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Chatfield Township and Chatfield are one community, graded once. Compare Chatfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Chatfield grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #1 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, A+ for safety and A for schools.
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.
3 notable people were born here, including Norman Rodgers and Arnin O. Sundet.
