Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,356, settled in 2006.
Columbus's standout: the median household earns $123K. Overall it grades B+, ranked 158th of 271 in Minnesota. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 77% of the country. Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, at 10,363 acres with 9.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On civic life, just 48 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do worse. Columbus’ median household income is $123,000, above both Minnesota’s towns ($90,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000).
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Columbus is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 119 in 1860, a low of 71 in 1870, 4,159 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2016 and 3 maps from 1955 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Columbus. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
20 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
21 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
21 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
24 mi LakeBde Maka SkaU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Bde Maka Ska: Tyler Vigen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Columbus, 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 Columbus.
Columbus owes part of its health edge to its incomes, has added a third more jobs in ten years and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
The typical Columbus home is worth about $484,000, up 3.2% in a year, 39% above the Minnesota typical home. The median rent in Columbus is $1,653 a month.
| Columbus | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,653 a month | $1,192 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Forest Lake Public School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 441 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Against the 5,282 U.S. towns with household incomes like Columbus’s, it is less healthy than 56%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
29% of Columbus adults sleep under 7 hours. Columbus beats the Minnesota average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 15% of Columbus adults report frequent mental distress.
| Columbus | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Columbus | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 11.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Cedar weather station, 10 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 158 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 5.4°.
Columbus has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Columbus’ January low is 5°F. About 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Columbus | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 5°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Columbus.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 1,132 in 2013 to 1,639.
Most working residents leave Columbus for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Columbus grew to 1,639 in 2023, 507 more than in 2013. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Columbus.
| Columbus | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Work from home | 14% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Columbus | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area | 9.9 mi | 10,363 |
| 2. Coon Lake Regional Park | 0.8 mi | 107 |
| 3. Columbus City Park | 0.3 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Columbus
About 1 of every 100 Columbus residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Columbus is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,159 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Columbus.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus | #158 | B+ | C | — | B | A− |
| East Bethel | #160 | B+ | B− | — | B | A− |
| Lino Lakes | #96 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Forest Lake | #168 | B+ | C+ | B− | B | A− |
| Linwood Township | #170 | B+ | B | — | B | B+ |
| Wyoming | #41 | A | B | A− | B+ | A |
| Ham Lake | #83 | A | B | — | B+ | A− |
Columbus, East Bethel, Linwood Township and Ham Lake report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Columbus with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Columbus grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #158 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A− for health and B for schools.
That is 4.8 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 C.
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