Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Howard Lake’s best subject grades are an A+ for safety, an A for cost of living, and an A− for civic life; its weakest is a C for walkability. Howard Lake City Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Howard Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Howard Lake beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Howard Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 477 in 1880, 2,071 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Howard 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 Howard Lake.
The violent crime rate for Howard Lake comes to 0.9 per 1,000 residents. Howard Lake’s rate of thefts and burglaries is 1.7 per 1,000 residents, below both Minnesota’s towns (8.7) and U.S. towns (9.9).
| Howard Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 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
Of its 9 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. The largest public high school is Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Sec., with 411 students. Public schools: the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 393 | B |
| Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Sec.Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 411 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Among adults in Howard Lake, 19% binge drink. Howard Lake: three quarters of adults had a checkup this year, near the Minnesota town median (75%) and below the median of U.S. towns (79%).
| Howard Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Howard Lake | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA hazard score in Howard Lake is 27 of 100. FEMA puts half of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 18% to tornadoes. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The range runs from 5° on a January night to 82° on a July afternoon, with about 41 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 274 Minnesota towns, just 8 have a higher mean commuting time than Howard Lake. Most people who work leave Howard Lake to do it: just 13% work in town. Since 2013, Howard Lake has added 500 jobs, to 1,325 in 2023. In Howard Lake, 20% of workers work from home.
| Howard Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For Howard Lake, the typical rent is $911 a month. Home values are up 3.4% over the year to September 2026. 72% of Howard Lake households are owner-occupiers.
| Howard Lake | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $911 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Trails run 0.2 miles in 2 parks and preserves. Howard Lake’s concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lion's Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Dutch Lake Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Howard Lake; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Howard Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Howard Lake is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. It hosts the annual Wright County fair. The population was 2,071 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Howard Lake.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Lake | — | — | A | A+ | B+ | B+ |
| Middleville Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Victor Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | B+ |
Howard Lake, Middleville Township and Victor Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Middleville Township and Victor Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Howard Lake 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.