Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ham Lake is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, 83rd of 271 graded towns in Minnesota, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $120K. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 82% of the country. A typical home there costs about $508K, 5.1 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. Only 57 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score lower on civic life. Ham Lake’s median household income is $120,000, where Minnesota’s towns sit at $90,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Ham Lake beats most towns.
Where Ham Lake’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 Ham Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 235 in 1880, 16,464 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 2 maps from 1985 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ham Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
19 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
19 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
22 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
22 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 Ham Lake, 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 Ham Lake.
Ham Lake owes part of its health edge to its incomes and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
94% of households own their home in Ham Lake. The typical Ham Lake home is worth about $508,000, up 1.9% in a year, 46% above the Minnesota typical home.
| Ham Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,173 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davinci AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 952 | A− |
| McKinley ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 636 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Against the 5,732 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ham Lake’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
29% of Ham Lake adults sleep under 7 hours. Ham Lake beats the Minnesota average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 74% of Ham Lake adults had a checkup this year.
| Ham Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ham Lake | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Ham Lake for work: only 6% work in town. Ham Lake’s average trip to work is 29 minutes. Jobs based in Ham Lake grew to 3,883 in 2023, 873 more than in 2013.
| Ham Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 17% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.6% | 9.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Cedar weather station, 6 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.
Ham Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 5° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide). The median age in Ham Lake is 43.8 years. Ham Lake has grown 3.8% since 2020, to 17,104 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ham Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 43.8 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 33% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 44.0, men 43.7.
| Ham Lake | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.6% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.7% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.2% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ham Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6.0 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ham Lake Park, at 119 acres.
| Ham Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ham Lake Park | 0.2 mi | 119 |
| 2. Lions Park | — | 35 |
| 3. Pinger's Plaza Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of Ham Lake
About 4 of every 100 Ham Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Ham Lake is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The population was 16,464 at the 2020 census. It is in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, one of Minnesota's largest school districts.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ham Lake.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Andover (A−) comes closest.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ham Lake | #83 | A | B | — | B+ | A− |
| Columbus | #158 | B+ | C | — | B | A− |
| Andover | #112 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Blaine | #156 | B+ | C+ | B− | B+ | B+ |
| East Bethel | #160 | B+ | B− | — | B | A− |
Ham Lake, Columbus, Andover and East Bethel report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ham Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ham Lake grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #83 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A− for health and B+ for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B.
2 notable people were born here, including Trevor Frischmon and Andy Erikson.
.jpg){kind=link}
