Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
East Grand Forks grades B+ overall, 148th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 86% of U.S. towns and it has 8 miles of trail. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 62% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $297K for a typical one and 4.3 times the Grand Forks metro’s $70K median household income. East Grand Forks’ trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, against 0.5 in Minnesota’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 28 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score higher on walkability. Hamm Brewing Company Beer Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where East Grand Forks beats most towns.
Where East Grand Forks’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 East Grand Forks is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 795 in 1890, 9,176 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 4 maps from 1934 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in East Grand Forks, 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 East Grand Forks.
East Grand Forks sends many workers across the state line to Fargo, has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Minnesota.
7.8 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is LaFave Park, at 43 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. O'Leary Park | 0.6 mi | 25 |
| 2. LaFave Park | 0.5 mi | 43 |
| 3. Itts Williams Park | 0.4 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the East Grand Forks Public Schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is East Grand Forks Senior High, with 608 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Heights ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 499 | – |
| East Grand Forks Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 608 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
East Grand Forks’ property crime rate is 2.3 per 1,000 residents, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 8.7 and U.S. towns at 9.9.
| East Grand Forks | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 1,011 flood insurance claims have been paid out in East Grand Forks.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
59% of working residents cross a state line to work, Fargo among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave East Grand Forks for work: only 17% work in town. 6% of East Grand Forks workers work from home. The top destinations are Grand Forks (48%), Fargo (6%) and Crookston (4%).
| East Grand Forks | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average -2.1°, colder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 81°.
East Grand Forks has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. The January low in East Grand Forks is -2°F. About 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| East Grand Forks | 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
64% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.1% across Minnesota.
East Grand Forks’ median rent is $888 a month. Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026. 68% of households own their home in East Grand Forks.
| East Grand Forks | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $888 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 72% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
East Grand Forks beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. Among 271 Minnesota towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than East Grand Forks.
| East Grand Forks | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | East Grand Forks | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.2% | 5.7% |
| More adults sleeping under 7 hours | 34.9% | 29.2% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.3% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of East Grand Forks
About 6 of every 100 East Grand Forks residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
6 notable people were born in East Grand Forks.
City in Minnesota, United States
East Grand Forks (also known as EGF) is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,176 at the 2020 census, making it Polk County's largest community. It is in the Red River Valley region along the eastern bank of the Red River of the North, directly across from Grand Forks, North Dakota. The cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks form the center of the Grand Forks, ND–MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand Forks. The statistical area's population was 104,362 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with East Grand Forks.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Grand Forks | #148 | B+ | C | A | B | B |
| Huntsville Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grand Forks Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sullivan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rhinehart Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Huntsville Township, Grand Forks Township, Sullivan Township and Rhinehart Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare East Grand Forks with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. East Grand Forks grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #148 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B for health, A for safety and B for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
6 notable people were born here, including John Lee Coulter and E. M. Culliton.