Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,139, settled in 1879. 89% more nonprofits per person than the typical Minnesota town.
Cologne’s best subject grades are an A for incomes and health and an A− for schools; its weakest is a C− for walkability. 7.9% of residents are 65 or older in Cologne, below both Minnesota’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). Cologne’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both the Minnesota town median (0.5) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On civic life, just 33 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do better. Cologne has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Philip Guettler House and John Knotz House. Cologne has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cologne beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Cologne | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.3% | 5.9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cologne Academy | K–8 | 679 |
| Cologne Academy Online | K–8 | 22 |
| STARS Building20 | PK | 30 |
1,519 counted in 2010 and 2,047 in 2020; an estimated 2,139 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Cologne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 60 in 1880, 2,047 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1915 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cologne, 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 Cologne.
24% of adults have high blood pressure in Cologne. Cologne beats the Minnesota average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 7.6% of adults have diabetes in Cologne.
| Cologne | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 10% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Cologne | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.3% | 5.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 21.5% | 17.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cologne AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 679 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Cologne for work: only 6% work in town. Cologne’s median household income is $129,000. Since 2013, Cologne has added 244 jobs, to 453 in 2023.
| Cologne | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $129,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.6% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 8% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (38% statewide). 27% of Cologne residents are under 18. Cologne has grown 4.5% since 2020, to 2,139 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Cologne | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 42% | 33% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Cologne | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.2% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.7% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.2% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.7% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.7% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.6% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.7% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.9% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.2% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cologne has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 6° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Cologne home is worth about $403,000, up 1.5% in a year, 15% above the Minnesota typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Square Park | 0.1 mi | 9 |
| 2. Village Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
| 3. Marion Fields | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cologne. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
17 mi Theme parkValleyfair
29 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
31 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
16 mi LakeLake Minnetonka
36 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino ArenaU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Valleyfair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/clumpinglitter/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Minnetonka: Dan, CC BY 2.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cologne
About 1 of every 100 Cologne residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Where Cologne’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Cologne on the National Register of Historic Places.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
89% more nonprofits per person than the typical Minnesota town.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($99,833 across the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro 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.
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