Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hugo's standout: the median household earns $116K. Overall it grades A−, 127th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. Hugo’s median rent is $1,891 a month, where Minnesota’s towns sit at $1,192 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Only 49 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score lower on history. The biggest park or preserve is Paul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area, at 356 acres.
Where Hugo beats most towns.
13,332 counted in 2010 and 15,766 in 2020; an estimated 17,167 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.9% since 2020, after 18.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Hugo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1850, comes before those of 94% of the Minnesota towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 204 in 1910, 15,766 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hugo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
18 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
17 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
20 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
18 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
16 mi MuseumMinnesota State CapitolU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Minnesota State Capitol: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hugo, 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 Hugo.
Hugo has less tooth loss than most of Minnesota and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
Its widest gap with Minnesota is tooth loss: 5.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 8.9% statewide.
27% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Hugo. Hugo beats the Minnesota average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9.7% of adults report frequent physical distress in Hugo.
| Hugo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hugo | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the White Bear Lake School District. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 467 | – |
| White Bear Transition Plus ProgramLargest public high schoolGrades 12 | Grades 12 | 51 | – |
| Oneka Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 463 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Hugo for work: only 5% work in town. 2.8% of Hugo residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Hugo has added 540 jobs, to 2,839 in 2023.
| Hugo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $116,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 18% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Hugo home is worth about $436,000, up 2.7% in a year, 25% above the Minnesota typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The U Of Mn St Paul weather station, 16 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 83% of Minnesota places with climate records.
Hugo has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82° and January nights drop to 6°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 42% of residents (38% statewide). Hugo has grown 8.9% since 2020, to 17,167 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| Hugo | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 33% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 18% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Hugo | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.6% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.4% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.7% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.3% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.9% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.6% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
0.9 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Paul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area | — | 356 |
| 2. Keystone Woods Wildlife Management Area | — | 235 |
| 3. Bernin Park | — | 41 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hugo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Hugo
About 5 of every 100 Hugo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
Where Hugo’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Minnesota, United States
Hugo ( HEW-goh) is a city 18 miles (29 km) north of downtown Saint Paul in Washington County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 15,766 at the 2020 census. The city lies north of White Bear Lake on the border of the metropolitan boundary. Hugo and nearby suburbs comprise the northeast portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States. The city's largest lake, Oneka Lake, is named for the Dakota word "onakan," which means "to strike or knock off," rice into a canoe. Just south is Rice Lake where Mdewakanton Dakota from Mendota gathered wild rice.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Hugo.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo | #127 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
| May Township | #149 | B+ | C | — | A− | A |
| Lino Lakes | #96 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Forest Lake | #168 | B+ | C+ | B− | B | A− |
| Grant | #86 | A | D | — | A | A |
| White Bear Township | #68 | A | C+ | — | B+ | A |
Hugo, May Township, Grant and White Bear Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hugo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hugo grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #127 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A for health and B+ for schools.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($99,833 across the Minneapolis-St. 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 C.
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