Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Hinckley’s subject grades is a B+ for walkability; the weakest is a D for incomes. On health, just 7 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do worse. Northern Pacific Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hinckley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Hinckley beats most towns.
Northern Pacific DepotWhere Hinckley’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 Hinckley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1894.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hinckley, 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 Hinckley.
At $51,000, Hinckley’s median household income is below both the Minnesota town median ($90,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). 20% of Hinckley residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Hinckley fell to 1,741 in 2023, 789 fewer than in 2013.
| Hinckley | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Hinckley-Finlayson School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hinckley-Finlayson Secondary, with 398 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinckley ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 395 | C |
| Hinckley-Finlayson SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 398 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
The typical Hinckley home is worth about $192,000, up 5.4% in a year, 45% below the Minnesota typical home. 56% of Hinckley households own their home, against 75% in Minnesota’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. Hinckley’s median rent is $956 a month.
| Hinckley | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $956 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Hinckley. Only 9 of the 272 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Hinckley. 30% of adults get no exercise outside work in Hinckley.
| Hinckley | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hinckley | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.1% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 18.6% | 11.4% |
| More smokers | 20.9% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hinckley has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Hinckley is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Hinckley | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Side Park | — | 12 |
| 2. Legion Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hinckley
About 3 of every 100 Hinckley residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Hinckley is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway 48. The population was 1,904 at the 2020 census. Hinckley's name in the Ojibwe language is Gaa-zhiigwanaabikokaag, meaning "the place abundant with grindstones" due to being located along the Grindstone River. Portions of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation are located within and adjacent to Hinckley. On September 1, 1894, the Great Hinckley Fire killed more than 400 people. Hinckley is generally considered the halfway point on Interstate 35 between Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Duluth.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Hinckley.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinckley · Hinckley Township | — | — | B | — | C | C− |
| Barry Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Hinckley has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Hinckley reports no FBI crime data of its own. Barry Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Hinckley Township and Hinckley are one community, graded once. Compare Hinckley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($71,146 across the county).
2 notable people were born here, including John Monk Saunders and Nathan Nelson.