Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,181, settled in 1872. A regional job hub with 9,040 jobs.
Trash & recyclingGrand Rapids grades B− overall, 211th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns and it has 24 miles of trail. On the other side, the median household income is $61K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. 50% of working residents work locally in Grand Rapids, above both the Minnesota town median (9.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On civic life, just 40 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do better. Central School is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Grand Rapids beats most towns.
Where Grand Rapids’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 Grand Rapids is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,428 in 1900, 11,126 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grand Rapids, 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 Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids draws workers from Harris Township and beyond, has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
25 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail density in Grand Rapids is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is American Legion Memorial Park, 109 acres with 1.8 miles of trail.
| Grand Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. American Legion Memorial Park | 1.8 mi | 109 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 38 |
| 3. Grussendorf Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Grand Rapids Public School District. Three of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Grand Rapids Senior High, with 1,091 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert J. Elkington Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 764 | B+ |
| Grand Rapids Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,091 | A− |
| East Rapids ElementaryTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 639 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
9,040 jobs are based in Grand Rapids, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
Grand Rapids’ average trip to work is 15 minutes. The top destinations are Duluth (5%), Cohasset (4%) and Hibbing (3%).
| Grand Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.6% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Grand Rapids since 1983.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Grand Rpds Forest Lab weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 130 days, shorter than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average -1.6°, colder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 78.7°.
Grand Rapids has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 60 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Grand Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | -2°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 79°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
60.6% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.1% across Minnesota.
The typical Grand Rapids home is worth about $280,000, up 2.4% in a year, 20% below the Minnesota typical home. 62% of households own their home in Grand Rapids.
| Grand Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,090 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,182 U.S. towns with household incomes like Grand Rapids’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 80% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Grand Rapids beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 27% of Grand Rapids adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Grand Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Grand Rapids | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.9% | 76.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.4% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Grand Rapids; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Grand Rapids residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
28 notable people were born in Grand Rapids.
City in Minnesota, United States
Grand Rapids is a city in, and the county seat of, Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,126 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) long rapids on the Mississippi River that was the uppermost limit of practical steamboat travel in the late 19th century. Today the rapids are hidden below the dam of UPM Paper Company.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Grand Rapids.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | #211 | B− | C | B+ | B+ | B− |
| Coleraine | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| La Prairie | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harris Township | #226 | B− | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Cohasset | #235 | C+ | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Arbo Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Coleraine has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Coleraine, Harris Township and Cohasset report no FBI crime data of their own. La Prairie and Arbo Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Grand Rapids with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Grand Rapids grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #211 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health, B+ for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($68,603 across the Grand Rapids, MN 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.
28 notable people were born here, including Judy Garland and Buzz Schneider.