Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Crookston gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $187K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the Grand Forks metro’s $70K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 240th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, 4% of its land is conserved. 59% of working residents work locally in Crookston, against 9.7% in Minnesota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Crookston is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Crookston is home to University of Minnesota-Crookston.
Where Crookston beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Crookston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,227 in 1880, 7,482 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Crookston, 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 Crookston.
Crookston is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding).
4.5 miles of trail in 23 parks and preserves. Crookston’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Highland Park Complex, at 35 acres.
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Highland Park Complex | 0.7 mi | 35 |
| 2. Nature's View Park | 0.5 mi | 28 |
| 3. Riverside Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Crookston Public School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Crookston Secondary, with 592 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 474 | B |
| Crookston SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 592 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
At 2.7 years of the Grand Forks metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home (about $187K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
57% of Crookston households own their home. The typical Crookston home is worth about $187,000, up 3% in a year, 46% below the Minnesota typical home. The median rent in Crookston is $848 a month.
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $848 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $487 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 48 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Crookston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average -2.2°, colder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 80.7°.
Crookston has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. About 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | -2°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
16% of residents live below the poverty line in Crookston. Jobs based in Crookston fell to 4,178 in 2023, 637 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Grand Forks (8%), Fargo (3%) and Thief River Falls (3%).
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 104 to 55 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Children under 18 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.9 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 33% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Crookston | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.5% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.8% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.9% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 8,120 U.S. towns with household incomes like Crookston’s, it is healthier than 81%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 81% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Crookston beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. Among 271 Minnesota towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Crookston.
| Crookston | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Crookston | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.5% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 15% | 11.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 9.8% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Crookston
About 8 of every 100 Crookston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
4 places in Crookston on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Crookston.
City in Minnesota, United States
Crookston is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Polk County. The population was 7,482 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Grand Forks metropolitan statistical area. Crookston is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Crookston. Crookston is partially a commuter town to the larger city of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Crookston.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crookston · Crookston Township | #240 | C+ | B+ | C+ | C+ | B− |
| Lowell Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fairfax Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Andover Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lowell Township, Fairfax Township and Andover Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Crookston Township and Crookston are one community, graded once. Compare Crookston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Crookston grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #240 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
18 notable people were born here, including Joseph H. Ball and John Noah.
