Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Gilbert’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A for the outdoors; the weakest is a C for incomes. Only 4 of Minnesota’s 575 towns score higher on hazard risk. Only 44 of Minnesota’s 575 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest park or preserve is Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, at 775 acres. Gilbert has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Gilbert beats most towns.
Where Gilbert’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 Gilbert is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1920.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gilbert, 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 Gilbert.
The typical Gilbert home is worth about $133,000, up 5.5% in a year, 62% below the Minnesota typical home. At $698 a month, Gilbert’s median rent is against $1,196 a month in Minnesota’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. 84% of Gilbert households own their home.
| Gilbert | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $698 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 6 of 100, Gilbert’s FEMA risk score is where Minnesota’s towns sit at 40 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Gilbert for work: only 6% work in town. Gilbert’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Gilbert grew to 212 in 2023, 28 more than in 2013.
| Gilbert | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.3% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The property crime rate in Gilbert is 16.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Gilbert | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.4 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Gilbert has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 78°, January nights drop to -4° and about 69 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
8.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area | 0.4 mi | 775 |
| 2. Ore-be-gone park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Gilbert beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Gilbert.
| Gilbert | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Gilbert | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.7% | 76.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.4% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Gilbert; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Gilbert residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
4 notable people were born in Gilbert.
City in Minnesota, United States
Gilbert is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,687 at the 2020 census. State Highway 37 (MN 37) and State Highway 135 (MN 135) are two of the main routes in Gilbert. Gilbert is part of the Quad Cities, with Virginia, Eveleth, and Mountain Iron. The city is named for either Giles Gilbert, who led the exploration of the McKinley mine property in the 1890s, or E. A. Gilbert, a Duluth businessman.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Gilbert.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert | — | — | A+ | C | B | B− |
| Virginia | #244 | C+ | A | C− | B | C− |
| Biwabik Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fayal Township | — | — | C | — | B | B− |
| Eveleth | #242 | C+ | A | C− | B | C+ |
Gilbert and Fayal Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Fayal Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Biwabik Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Gilbert with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.
4 notable people were born here, including Treg Brown and Lou Barle.